title: A basic step toward understanding skin surface temperature distributions caused by internal heat sources.
abstract: This study uses numerical solutions of a bio-heat transfer equation to investigate the relationship between skin surface temperature distributions and internal heat sources under various physiological and environmental conditions. It is found that although a surface temperature distribution depends on all heat source parameters, the properly normalized distribution is primarily affected only by the depth of the heat source. This study provides a physical basis for determining the depth and type of an internal heat source from a thermogram acquired in various environmental conditions and an understanding of the basic relationship between skin surface temperature distributions and internal heat sources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5005, USA.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hui Helen
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Logan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lebanowski
authors.forename: Zhongqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Pei Herng
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Hor
mesh_terms: D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004735:Energy Transfer / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D012881:Skin Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D013817:Thermography / Q000379:methods*