Simulation of Discrete Blood Vessel Effects on the Thermal Signature of a Melanoma Lesion

The effect of the underlying blood vessel on the transient thermal response of the skin surface with and without a melanoma lesion is studied. A 3D computational model of the layers of the skin tissue with cancerous lesion was developed in COMSOL software package. Heat transfer in the skin layers and the lesion is governed by the Pennes bio-heat equation, while the blood vessel is modeled as fully developed pipe flow with constant heat transfer coefficient. The effect of various pertinent parameters, such as diameter of the blood vessel, lateral location of the blood vessel relative to the lesion, flow velocity of the blood, on the skin surface temperature distribution, have been studied in the paper. The results show significant influence of the underlying blood vessel on the temperature of the skin surface and lesion as well as on the surrounding healthy tissue. Thus, a need for development of evaluation criteria for detection of malignant lesions in the presence of blood vessels is is discussed.