Advanced Approaches For Quantitative Characterization Of Thermal Transport Properties In Soft Materials Using Thin, Conformable Resistive Sensors

Keywords

Epidermal electronics; Erythema; Sunburn; Thermal conductivity; Transient plane source

Abstract

Noninvasive methods for precise characterization of the thermal properties of soft biological tissues such as the skin can yield vital details about physiological health status including at critical intervals during recovery following skin injury. Here, we introduce quantitative measurement and characterization methods that allow rapid, accurate determination of the thermal conductivity of soft materials using thin, skin-like resistive sensor platforms. Systematic evaluations of skin at eight different locations and of six different synthetic skin-mimicking materials across sensor sizes, measurement times, and surface geometries (planar, highly curvilinear) validate simple scaling laws for data interpretation and parameter extraction. As an example of the possibilities, changes in the thermal properties of skin (volar forearm) can be monitored during recovery from exposure to ultraviolet radiation (sunburn) and to stressors associated with localized heating and cooling. More generally, the results described here facilitate rapid, non-invasive thermal measurements on broad classes of biological and non-biological soft materials.

Publication Date

7-1-2018

Publication Title

Extreme Mechanics Letters

Volume

22

Number of Pages

27-35

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.2018.04.002

Socpus ID

85047012181 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85047012181

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