Determination of Thermal Penetration Depth in Blood
Abstract
Optical radiation is increasingly applied in the treatment and diagnosis of different pathologies and it has been extended to different fields of medicine. One of the most important aspects in order to fully understand the interaction of the light with tissues is their correct optical characterization. In those cases where the power density of the incident light is sufficiently high (as in Photodynamic Therapy), it is also needed the knowledge of the thermal properties of the tissue because the temperature rise could be significant and it could play a role in the therapeutic effects of the treatment. The thermal penetration depth of human blood has been measured applying the diffusion approximation of the radiative transfer equation. The results and the experimental setup are presented and discussed.
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