TITLE:
Thermal Effect of a Revolving Gaussian Beam on Activating Heat-Sensitive Nociceptors in Skin
AUTHORS:
Hongyun Wang, Wesley A. Burgei, Hong Zhou
KEYWORDS:
Heat-Sensitive Nociceptor, Heat-Induced Withdrawal Reflex, Revolving Gaussian Beam, Optimizing Energy Consumption, Non-Dimensional Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics,
Vol.9 No.1,
January
20,
2021
ABSTRACT: We consider the problem of inducing withdrawal reflex on a test subject by exposing the subject’s skin to an electromagnetic beam. Heat-sensitive nociceptors in the skin are activated wherever the temperature is above the activation temperature. Withdrawal reflex occurs when the activated volume reaches a threshold. Previously we studied static beams with 3 types of power density distribution: Gaussian, super-Gaussian, and flat-top. We found that the flaptop is the best and the Gaussian is the worst in their performance with regard to 1) minimizing the time to withdrawal reflex, 2) minimizing the energy consumption and 3) minimizing the maximum temperature increase. The less-than-desirable performance of Gaussian beams is attributed to the uneven distribution of power density resulting in low energy efficiency: near the beam center the high power density does not contribute proportionally to increasing the activated volume; outside the beam effective radius the low power density fails to activate nociceptors. To overcome the drawbacks of Gaussian beams, in this study, we revolve a Gaussian beam around a fixed point to make the power density more uniformly distributed. We optimize the performance over two parameters: the spot size of static beam and the radius of beam revolution. We find that in comparison with a static Gaussian beam, a revolving Gaussian beam can reduce the energy consumption, and at the same time lower the maximum temperature.