Towards Parametric Modelling of Skin Cancer Risk: Estimation of Body Surface Area Covered by Protective Clothing Using Base Mesh Modelling

The accumulated exposure to ultra-violet radiation creates an occupational and public health risk, and is carcinogenic to humans. The body surface area coverage by clothing (BSAC) contributes to skin cancer risk, and is a requirement in international standards on sun protective clothing, such as AS/NZS 4399: 2017. BSAC is usually calculated utilising human subjects or physical mannequins using coating methods, indirect methods or direct measurements estimating the fraction of body covered. These methods are laborious and inflexible, and do not support computer based apparel design. To obtain a simpler, process integrated method, we determine the proportion of exposed body surface area using variable digital human models as virtual subjects, and image processing tools. Parametric, neutral posture human bodies of varying body stature, weight and age, including females and males, were generated in MakeHuman v1.1.1, and a protective clothing mesh, covering the minimum BSA specified in AS/NZS 4399: 2017 was added. The MakeHuman definition of a human is based on fuzzy logic, with the main parameters normalised, and linked in a non-linear relation. The Whole Body Surface Area (WBSA) and the BSAC were obtained employing MeshLab, integrating elements on the respective surfaces, which were processed to improve precision. A procedure was developed to control geometric inconsistencies between the body base mesh and the clothing mesh. Thus different representative, generalized groups of subjects were analysed to explore BSAC. The method assists in the evaluation of exposed body areas in a wider spectrum of different occupations with their respective typical protective clothing conditions.