A Human Thermoregulation Simulator for Calibrating Water-Perfused Cooling Pad Systems for Therapeutic Hypothermia

The induction of a mild reduction in body core temperature has been demonstrated to provide neuroprotection for patients who have suffered a medical event resulting in ischemia to the brain or vital organs. Temperatures in the range of 32 –34 °C provide the required level of protection and can be produced and maintained by diverse means for periods of days. Rewarming from hypothermia must be conducted slowly to avoid serious adverse consequences and usually is performed under control of the thermal therapeutic device based on a closed-loop feedback strategy based on the patient's core temperature. Given the sensitivity and criticality of this process, it is important that the device control system be able to interact with the human thermoregulation system, which itself is highly nonlinear. The therapeutic hypothermia devic e must be calibrated periodically to ensure that its performance is accurate and safe for the patient. In general, calibration processes are conducted with the hypothermia device operating on a passive thermal mass that behaves much differently than a living human. This project has developed and dem onstrated an active human thermoregulation simulator (HTRS) that embodies major governing thermal functions such as central metabolism, tissue conduction, and convective transport between the core and the skin surface via the flow of blood and that replicates primary dimensions of the torso. When op erated at physiological values for metabolism and cardiac ...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - Category: Medical Devices Source Type: research