Analysis of temperature changes in living tissue using the modified fractional thermal conduction model under laser heat flux on the skin surface

Abstract

The use of thermal conduction models, particularly the double-phase lag thermal wave model, is vital for improving thermal therapies in biological tissues. However, existing models have limitations that hinder their practical application. This paper introduces a modified Pennes fractional thermal equation for biological heat transfer that integrates the double-phase lag concept and the fractional Atangana-Baleanu operator with a non-singular kernel. The model’s predictions were validated against measured temperature responses of laser-irradiated skin tissue and compared to established models. A one-dimensional layer of human skin tissue was analyzed using the Laplace transform method, with graphical results for each scenario. The comparative analysis showed that the AB fractional model outperforms other fractional models in capturing memory effects related to temperature variations and accurately models thermal interactions in living tissues while considering time delays. These findings highlight the model’s potential to improve the design and optimization of thermal therapies in clinical practice.