Identification of skin lesions from the transient thermal response using infrared imaging technique

Increased availability of thermal imaging cameras has led to an interest in the application of infrared imaging techniques to the detection and identification of subsurface structures. We study the use of the transient thermal response of skin layers to determine to which extent surface temperature distribution reflects the properties of subsurface structures, such as lesions. A numerical model using the finite element method is described to obtain this response, which enables us to draw conclusions regarding the size, depth and nature of subsurface structures. This work validates the idea of examining the transient thermal response and using thermal imaging as a solution for lesion identification. A sensitivity study of surface temperature distribution to variations of thermophysical properties, blood perfusion rate, and thicknesses of skin layers is performed. It is observed that variations in these parameters have minimal effects on surface temperature distribution.