Cardiac Cooling Vest Prototype Being Developed - No Batteries Needed

A growing number of public areas such as businesses and public transit stations have portable defibrillators available to help revive victims of cardiac arrest. Reestablishing the heartbeat is only half the battle, though. A person's brain cells begin dying off within three minutes of the heart stopping, and permanent damage or death occurs after six minutes. However, if the brain's need for blood can be lowered, the odds of damage will be reduced as well. When a person's core temperature is reduced, brain function can be preserved. Cooling blankets and chilled IVs have been used in clinical settings to prevent hypoxic injuries incurred during cardiovascular and brain operations since the 1980s. But what can be done for the patient who goes into cardiac arrest on the street, or at work?

The Hohenstein Institute in Germany currently is developing a cooling vest prototype intended for use in such situations. No electricity or batteries are needed, making it suitable for use in public places or remote areas. The vest holds several cooling pads made of a water-tight and air- proof material that was developed by the design team. Tubing connects the pads to one another and to a container that holds water and the mineral zeolite. When the switch is turned on, vacuum pressure sends the water over the zeolite and into the cooling pads, inducing mild hypothermia by lowering the patient's temperature from 34 to 32 degrees Celsius, just enough to reduce the brain's demand for blood and decreasing the chances of permanent damage. 

Operating the vest requires no special skills and is totally noninvasive.  After reestablishing the heartbeat through manual CPR or the use of a defibrillator, the responder simply lays it on the patient's chest, activates it, and it begins filling the cooling pads immediately. In lowering the patient's core temperature by a mere two degrees, the brain's demand for blood goes down, leading to a reduced risk of permanent neurological damage.

  

In the past, many cardiac arrest survivors lived with the aftereffects of hypoxic injuries, ranging from memory impairment to mobility issues or a combination of both. Some became invalids with severe activity restrictions. Through prevention, and with the use of preventative measures such as the Cardiac vest, the patient can expect a return to a reasonably high quality of life. On top of that, the use of the cooling vests has the potential to save costs involved with aftercare.

Currently, the development team is in search of an industrial partner to manufacture the vests. They are also researching other medical uses of the textiles in both heating and cooling applications. The Centers for Disease Control lists heart disease as the number one cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of 25% of the people who pass on every year. While making healthy nutrition and exercise choices are the best ways to prevent death by heart disease, the cooling vest will help to increase the odds of survival.