Portable Cooling Vest to Minimise Complications of Cardiac Arrest

A team of scientists from the faculty of Hygiene, Environment & Medicine at the Hohenstein Institute have developed a new therapy that shows how by lowering the body's core temperature one could reduce the likelihood of neurological damage in an event of oxygen deprivation.

For most cardiac arrest patients, however, even successful reanimation is just a partial success as only a few patients survive this life-saving measure without consequential neurological damage. This is due to parts of the brain possibly sustaining lasting damage caused by the lack of blood flow and oxygen supply during the period until the ambulance arrives. This often results in the affected becoming invalid.

It is been recorded that every year more than million people suffer a cardiac arrest all over the world. In order to reduce complications from such conditions, the scientists have come up with a new process known as "Therapeutic Hypothermia", in which the hospital staff will regularly manage chilled water blankets or insert cold drip catheters. This is done in order to protect the patient who has just suffered a cardiac arrest. 

The research project supported by the state of Baden-Württemberg for the competition 'Biotechnology and medical technology', the scientists lead by Prof. Dr. Dirk Höfer developed the prototype of a textile cooling vest. The new type of medical product promises improved acute treatment for cardiac arrest by very quickly cooling down the patient's body.

This prototype device incorporates water filled cooling pads which a connected by hose to an adjacent vacuum pressurized sealed metal container inside which are the silicate materials called zeolites which rapidly extract heat from water.

When a patient is suffering from a cardiac arrest, the vest would be placed on the patient at the earliest. When the inserted valve is opened the water in the pads instantly cools down to near freezing temperature, very effectively draining body heat from the patient at the same time. The cooling system based on zeolite/water adsorption technology has a simple design and allows drastic lowering of the core body temperature after occurrence of a cardiac arrest at any time and in any place - without electric power!

During this time, the scientists hope that the patient regains its normal cardiac function and the cooling effect protects them from lasting brain damage.

Prof. Dr. Dirk Höfer said, "The cooling pads harbour enormous potential in the neurological rehabilitation after cardiac arrests. In addition to the benefits for the affected individual, every prevented case of invalidity is also a great financial advantage for the general public."