Numerical analysis of transient thermal contrast on the surface of women’s breasts during recovery from contact cooling

Amri, Amina

Abstract

The Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) method is used to solve numerically a heat transfer model for the woman’s breast and predict the tumour-induced thermal contrast on its surface during a breast thermography exam. This imaging modality is beset with some limitations that prevent it from being fully accepted as an adjunct breast screening modality in medicine. The main challenges of breast thermography are to reduce the rate of false positive findings and to obtain information about the tumour’s depth. The monitoring of temperature transients after applying an external cooling load has shown some promises in enhancing the thermal signature of a tumour but did not provide characteristic information about the tumour. However, advances in infrared imaging systems and image processing have encouraged the reappraisal of breast thermography and transient thermography. Therefore, the TLM based numerical model is used to assess the effectiveness of breast thermography in tumour detection at steady state and after contact cooling. This research examines parameters that could affect the tumour-induced thermal contrast at steady state and identifies transient thermal characteristics that correlate with the tumour’s diameter, depth, or blood perfusion after contact cooling. Simulation results reveal that steady-state thermography may be used for women with dense breasts where tumours are located at depth of less than 2 𝑐𝑚 from the breast surface. For these tumours, the calculated steady-state thermal contrasts are strongly affected by the environmental temperature and the skin blood perfusion and cannot provide information about the tumour’s depth, diameter, or blood perfusion unambiguously. However, the analysis of the thermal transients after localised cooling shows two potential depth-related characteristic times that do not strongly depend on the magnitude or the duration of cooling for tumours.

Citation

Amri, A. (2024). Numerical analysis of transient thermal contrast on the surface of women’s breasts during recovery from contact cooling. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4927492

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 26, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 26, 2027
• Keywords: Engineering
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4927492
• Additional Information: Electronic Engineering; Department of Engineering; University of Hull
• Award Date: Jul 25, 2024