Research Project
3490686
This application proposes research leading to the development of a series of reusable medical products using heat storage devices to deliver heat on demand when activated. Specific aims are to design and evaluate consumer/physician based devices to deliver heat primarily to the hands and neck/shoulders for patients afflicted with arthritis and Raynaud's phenomenon. The active element of the devices will be a polymer laminated bag containing a supercooled salt solution (e.g., sodium acetate tetrahydrate) at room temperature, together with an activating (trigger) device that , when squeezed, causes the liquid to crystallize, thereby releasing heat, The trigger is based upon a patented design developed at the Solar Energy Research Institute and licensed by TA&T, which works by trapping and then releasing on demand a seed crystal. It is non-metallic, which will permit safe use of a microwave oven to recharge the device by melting the solid. This Phase I project is for design, development and laboratory evaluation of prototype conformational heat pack devices, and assessment of clinical effectiveness by a rheumatologist. The objective is a set of approved prototype heat pack devices to be submitted for a full clinical evaluation at Jefferson Medical College under Phase II.
