Thermal characterisation of human skin using differential thermometry

This paper deals with developments related to biomedical applications of a high resolution differential temperature measurement system. One of the research axis is to evaluate in vivo and in situ thermal characteristics of the human skin, in order to correlate them with physiological parameters evaluated by other means. These characteristics are mainly modulated by the skin water content, and the capillary blood flow. The goal is to develop a diagnostic tool suitable to monitor and evaluate physiological reactions, eventually associated with stimuli, to detect skin pathologies, to estimate capillary blood flow change, etc. Preliminary experimental results show the richness of such thermal signals, opening the way to a promising monitoring approach