Figure 3
Temperature distribution with surface contact heating. The surface of the skin was elevated from 33°C to 45°C at t = 0 s for 3600 s. This approximates contact heating in which a metal (large thermal diffusivity) -encased heater with controlled temperature is held against the skin. Top: the temperature distribution as a function of skin depth with 10 ml/100 g min perfusion is shown for four different time points (inset in s). The four curves show the temperature profile before the application, immediately after the application, before the removal, and after the removal of the surface heating. Bottom: Tissue damage indicator predicted for the transcutaneous heating for four different perfusion levels (inset in ml/100 g min).