Can a robot outperform a human operator in skin photorejuvenation?

Development of a numerical multi-layer model of skin subjected to pulsed laser irradiation to optimise thermal stimulation in photorejuvenation procedure

“…h = 10 (W/m 2 .K) The numerical methods and analyses described in this paper were implemented in the general symbolic-numeric software package GNU Octave 6 [52]. The developed code is intended to be used in conjunction with the skin photorejuvenation robot reported in Muddassir et al [15,16] and the work presented here is a logical progression toward the production of a fully automated robotic system for laser treatment procedures. The behaviour of the mathematical and numerical model was assessed using direct sensitivity analyses against all its constitutive parameters.…”

“…Light absorption and scattering govern the interaction of light with the different layers of skin. In this study, we considered 3 In a previous study [15,16], the introduction of sensors and robot manipulator automates treatment and improves the delivery of laser light irradiation on the skin. a monochromatic laser beam with a wavelength of 1064 nm.…”

“…The main reason to compute the heat distribution inside the skin is to enable the photorejuvenation robot, reported in [15,16], to regulate and/or maintain a desired temperature at a specific depth within the skin. Thus, defining a control law will ensure optimal temperature regulation.…”

“…Previous studies [15,16] have reported a novel skin photorejuvenation robot that can irradiate the laser light uniformly and that has enabled the automation of the treatment to some degree. However, despite this robot significantly improving the delivery of laser irradiation in terms of spatial accuracy, it lacks the capabilities to estimate and predict the amount of thermal stimulation needed so that specific temperature distributions could be obtained at critical locations within the dermal tissue.…”

“…Figure1: Illustration of the concept of simulation-based controlled robot for laser photorejuvenation procedures. In a previous study[15,16], the introduction of sensors and robot manipulator automates treatment and improves the delivery of laser light irradiation on the skin.…”