Study on the density and dimension of human sweat ducts and their frequency of resonance

Abstract

Owing to the rapid development of electronic and photonic devices operating in terahertz (THz) frequency region, it is crucial to understand the non-thermal effects of these electromagnetic waves on human body. In the past, it was reported that human sweat duct works as a helical antenna in terahertz frequency region and it plays an important role in the interaction of THz wave with the skin. In order to further understand the effects of these waves, it is essential to know the morphological features of the sweat ducts. In this work, we analyzed the density and dimension of the ducts based on three dimensional images obtained with optical coherence tomography (OCT). We observed that the sweat ducts possess helical structure and the diameter of the ducts from different regions of the body show considerable resemblance. Based on this information, we numerically determined the resonating frequency of helical ducts which resulted in the terahertz frequency region spanning from 0.3 THz to 0.7 THz.