Novel approach to assess the emissivity of the human skin

Francisco J. Sanchez-Marin; Sergio Calixto-Carrera; Carlos Villaseñor-Mora

doi:10.1117/1.3086612

1 March 2009 Novel approach to assess the emissivity of the human skin

Francisco J. Sanchez-Marin, Sergio Calixto-Carrera, Carlos Villaseñor-Mora

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 14, Issue 2, 024006 (March 2009). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3086612

Abstract

To study the radiation emitted by the human skin, the emissivity of its surface must be known. We present a new approach to measure the emissivity of the human skin. Our method is based on the calculation of the difference of two infrared images: one acquired before projecting a CO₂ laser beam on the surface of the skin and the other after such projection. The difference image contains the radiation reflected by the skin, which is used to calculate the emissivity, making use of Kirchhoff's law and the Helmholtz reciprocity relation. With our method, noncontact measurements are achieved, and the determination of the skin temperature is not needed, which has been an inconvenience for other methods. We show that it is possible to make determinations of the emissivity at specific wavelengths. Last, our results confirm that the human skin obeys Lambert's law of diffuse reflection and that it behaves almost like a blackbody at a wavelength of 10.6 μm.

©(2009) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Francisco J. Sanchez-Marin, Sergio Calixto-Carrera, and Carlos Villaseñor-Mora "Novel approach to assess the emissivity of the human skin," Journal of Biomedical Optics 14(2), 024006 (1 March 2009). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3086612

Published: 1 March 2009

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KEYWORDS

Skin

Infrared cameras

Infrared radiation

Reflectivity

Temperature metrology

Infrared imaging

Black bodies

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