Palm-Cooling Glove: Enhancing Heat Transfer/Removal by Cooling Anastomoses in the Hand
- Detailed Technology Description
- Researchers at the University of Louisville have developed a palm-cooling glove, to be worn by persons during exercise or their exposure to warm ambient temperatures.
- *Abstract
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RDF #17013
Highlights
- Glove that enhances heat extraction from the user’s body;
- May improve exercise performance via heat removal;
- May improve worker performance in physically demanding jobs;
- May reduce user’s likelihood of experiencing hyperthermia and its related health ailments.
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Technology
Excess body heat removal is among the biggest environmental concerns faced by humans.
Higher body temperatures may cause dehydration that can, in turn, impair cardiovascular, thermoregulatory and metabolic function. [1]
Hence, there is a need for effective treatments to hasten body heat removal and mitigate such impairments.
To address that need, researchers at the University of Louisville have developed a palm-cooling glove, to be worn by persons during exercise or their exposure to warm ambient temperatures.
By cooling the palm, which is scientifically shown to be a natural radiator point on the body, the body’s core is also cooled, and when the body's core is kept cool, an individual is able to perform better, longer, and more confidently.[2][3][4]
Therefore, the palm-cooling glove can potentially help reduce the body temperature of individuals (astronauts, military personnel, firefighters, laborers, etc.) exposed to warm environments or exercising, and by doing so, improve their performance.
Current products that aid heat removal require users to stop the activity that produces the excess body heat. Thus, they are impractical for many laborers as they work and detrimental to their job productivity, since they must stop what they are doing to cool their palms.
In contrast, the palm-cooling glove overcomes this limitation because it can be worn while users exercise or perform their jobs, allowing heat removal with no disruption to their work or exercise efforts.
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Current Status
Development Status: Prototype developed and tested with positive results
Fields of Use Available: All
Publications: Caruso, J. F., et al. "Intermittent palm cooling’s impact on resistive exercise performance." International journal of sports medicine 94.10 (2015): 814-821.
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Inventors
- John Caruso, Ph.D.
- Peter M Quesada, Ph.D.
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MORE INFORMATION: thinker@louisville.edu / 502.852.2965 / Attn.: RDF#17013
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*This Technology is available for licensing, further development, or industrial partnering*
- Country/Region
- USA
