Noncontact determination of thermal diffusivity in biomaterials using infrared imaging radiometry.
Abstract
A noncontact method to determine the thermal diffusivity of biomaterials is derived theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. Assuming that the initial three-dimensional temperature distribution in the biomaterial immediately following pulsed laser irradiation can be separated into lateral and longitudinal factors, a convolution equation is derived that relates a pair of infrared emission images to the lateral thermal point spread function. Pairs of infrared emission images recorded following pulsed laser irradiation are used in combination with a nonlinear least-squares algorithm to determine the lateral thermal point spread function and thus the thermal diffusivity of the biomaterial. Sequences of infrared emission images recorded following pulsed laser irradiation are used to determine thermal diffusivity (0.103±0.007 mm2s) of an in vitro type I hydrated collagen film. Application of the method to in vivo tissues is discussed.
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