Pulsed photothermal radiometry of port-wine-stain lesions

Abstract

Pulsed photothermal radiometry is used to map the heat deposition in human skin after a short laser pulse. It uses an IR (HgCdTe) detector for a rapid noncontact measurement of the skin surface temperature based on the blackbody emission in the 8-12-microm spectrum. The heat deposited by the laser pulse in the superficial epidermis causes an immediate temperature jump, and the heat deposited in basal epidermal melanin and deep port wine stains diffuses to the surface before detection. The time course of the surface temperature T(z = 0, t), indicates the initial spatial distribution of heat, T(z, t = 0), deposited by the laser.