Our work over the past year has been in collaborative support of NICHD protocol 06-CH-0038, """"""""Body Heat Content and Dissipation in Obese and Normal Weight Adults"""""""". Activities included:? ? 1. Implementation of a method, """"""""recovery-enhanced infrared imaging"""""""", to gauge the reaction of human subjects to mild cold stress of the fingers. ? ? 2. Development and implementation of algorithms to analyze localized low-frequency oscillations in skin temperature during exercise, and to reduce artifacts due to movement.? ? 3. Development of a new method to locate perforator vessels that travel (and convect heat) from subcutaneous tissues to the skin's surface. Infrared imaging was used to identify candidate locations (""""""""hot spots"""""""") on the skin. Then MRI, without the use of contrast agents, was used to confirm the presence or absence of perforator vessels. IR imaging was also used to guide placement of telemetric skin patches for continuous, 24/7, recording of temperatures overlying perforator vessels. Correlations were made with rest, exercise, and digestion of meals.
