An individualized and multi-segmental bioheat model for predicting local conditions of the human body under various thermal environments

Mahdi Afzalian; Seyed Alireza Zolfaghari

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103708

An individualized and multi-segmental bioheat model for predicting local conditions of the human body under various thermal environments

J Therm Biol. 2023 Oct:117:103708. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103708. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

Authors

Mahdi Afzalian¹, Seyed Alireza Zolfaghari²

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical Engineering, University of Birjand, Iran. Electronic address: mahdi.afzalian@birjand.ac.ir.
² Mechanical Engineering, University of Birjand, Iran. Electronic address: zolfaghari@birjand.ac.ir.

PMID: 37738802
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103708

Abstract

Thermoregulatory bioheat models have attracted the attention of researchers due to their conformity with the basis of human thermal perception. For this reason, various models have been presented, such as simplified thermoregulatory bioheat (STB), individualized thermoregulatory bioheat (ITB), and multi-segmental thermoregulatory bioheat (MSTB). In the present study and based upon previous models, an individual multi-segment thermoregulatory bioheat (IMTB) model has been introduced. In this model, the body is subdivided into 17 segments and 3 layers, with the blood circulatory system consisting of arteries, veins, and superficial veins. Also, IMTB can evaluate the individual parameters effects (such as height, weight, gender, and age) on physiological parameters and active/passive systems. Finally, this new model was evaluated in human thermal response predictions over a wide range of transient and steady-state environmental conditions (5.0< T_air(°C) <50.0, 31.0 < RH (%)<70.0) and various individual characteristics (male and female, 20 < age (years) < 69, 50<weight (kg) < 92, and 1.5<height(m) < 1.9). The results indicated that the new model agreed well with empirical data and the average mean absolute error (MAE) was 0.1, 0.5, and 0.3 °C for core, local, and mean skin temperature, respectively.

Keywords: Blood circulatory system; Individual characteristics; Local skin temperature; Multi-segment; Thermoregulatory bioheat model; Transient thermal environment.