Quantitative Infrared Thermographic Assessment of Hand Cooling Dynamics During Controlled Contact with Metal Plates

Abstract

This study investigates the spatiotemporal thermal response of human hands during controlled contact cooling using short wave infrared (SWIR), mid wave infrared (MWIR), and long wave infrared (LWIR) thermography. Three participants simultaneously placed one hand on a cooling metal plate and the contralateral hand on a reference plate maintained near room temperature. Temperature evolution was analyzed in five anatomical regions, including the distal finger, proximal finger, vessel associated region, non vessel region, and forearm. Quantitative metrics, including temperature variation, bilateral temperature difference, initial cooling rate, and frequency-domain amplitude, were extracted from the thermal image sequences. The results showed that the finger regions exhibited the largest temperature reductions and highest cooling rates, indicating greater sensitivity to thermal stimulation than the dorsal hand and forearm. MWIR and LWIR measurements revealed highly consistent cooling dynamics, while LWIR imaging provided enhanced thermal contrast and sensitivity. Frequency-domain analysis demonstrated that the dominant thermal response was concentrated in the low frequency range below 0.05 Hz. Furthermore, pixel-wise cooling rate maps highlighted substantial spatial heterogeneity across the hand surface. Numerical bioheat simulations confirmed that blood perfusion and skin plate contact conductance are key factors governing the cooling response. These findings demonstrate the potential of dynamic infrared thermography as a non-contact tool for assessing peripheral thermoregulation and vascular function during controlled cooling experiments.