Numerical modeling of laser-induced thermal damage in skin: comparison of a coupled local thermal non-equilibrium–dual-phase-lag model with the pennes model

Hamzavi, Fahimeh; Karimi, Mohammad Javad; Bahadoran, Mahdi

Numerical modeling of laser-induced thermal damage in skin: comparison of a coupled local thermal non-equilibrium–dual-phase-lag model with the pennes model

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Fahimeh Hamzavi ¹

Mohammad Javad Karimi ²

Mahdi Bahadoran ³

¹ Department of Physics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz

² Department of Physics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz, Fars, Iran

³ Department of Physics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz,

Abstract

Heat transfer in biological tissues under laser irradiation plays a crucial role in improving the efficiency and safety of photothermal therapies; therefore, the selection of an appropriate model for predicting tissue thermal responses is essential. The thermal response and thermal damage of skin tissue exposed to two laser beams were numerically investigated using a coupled model combining local thermal non-equilibrium and dual-phase-lag, and the results were compared with the Pennes formulation. The governing equations were solved using the finite difference method implemented in MATLAB software, and the effects of laser irradiation intensity and pulse timing parameters on temperature distribution and thermal damage were examined. Compared to the Pennes model, the local thermal non-equilibrium model coupled with the dual-phase-lag model predicts higher temperatures and greater thermal damage. Upon validation with experimental measurements, the local thermal non-equilibrium model coupled with the dual-phase-lag model reduced the temperature discrepancy from ~1.7 °C, as obtained by the Pennes bioheat model, to ~0.5 °C demonstrating closer agreement with the experimental data.

Keywords

Bioheat transfer

Local thermal non-equilibrium

Dual-phase-lag

Laser

Thermal damage

Subjects