New, Optimized Skin Calorimeter Version for Measuring Thermal Responses of Localized Skin Areas during Physical...

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Thermal Science

Background:

• Accurate measurement of localized skin thermal responses is crucial for understanding physiological adaptations during physical activity.
• Existing skin calorimeters face challenges in maintaining accuracy under dynamic conditions like movement and air currents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an optimized skin calorimeter with enhanced accuracy and efficiency for measuring localized skin thermal responses.
• To validate the performance of the improved device under various environmental and physiological conditions.

Main Methods:

• Development of an optimized skin calorimeter featuring a new holding system, sensitive thermopiles, and an upgraded heat sink.
• Implementation of an advanced calorimetric model accounting for all measurement variables.
• Performance validation through tests with air currents, movement disturbances, and human subject trials (rest and exercise).

Main Results:

• The optimized skin calorimeter achieves a power measurement resolution of 1 mW.
• The device demonstrated high accuracy, with less than 5% deviation under significant air current and movement disturbances.
• Human subject tests confirmed accurate measurement of localized skin heat flux, heat capacity, and thermal resistance with less than 5% uncertainty.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced skin calorimeter provides accurate and reliable measurements of localized skin thermal responses.
• The device's robustness against environmental disturbances makes it suitable for real-world applications.
• This optimized calorimeter holds significant potential for advancing research in sports medicine and human physiology.