Experimental study on the effectiveness of the PCM cooling vest in persons with paraplegia of varying levels

Mneimneh, Farah; Moussalem, Charbel; Ghaddar, Nesreen; Ghali, Kamel; Omeis, Ibrahim

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102634

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In practice, a cooling vest may cover the entire torso, which potentially enhances the magnitude of cooling benefits. This may, however, not hold for individuals with a high-level SCI, as it has been observed that individuals with a high thoracic SCI benefited less from torso cooling than those with a mid to low thoracic SCI ( 31 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper-Body versus Lower-Body Cooling in Individuals with Paraplegia during Arm-Crank Exercise in the Heat

Alkemade

Eijsvogels

Janssen

et al. 2023

Medicine &Amp; Science in Sports &Amp; Exercise

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Purpose For wheelchair-users with a spinal cord injury, the lower body may be a more convenient cooling site than the upper body. However, it remains unknown if leg cooling reduces thermal strain in these individuals. We compared the impact of upper-body versus lower-body cooling on physiological and perceptual outcomes during submaximal arm-crank exercise under heat stress in individuals with paraplegia. Methods Twelve male participants with paraplegia (T4-L2, 50% complete lesion) performed a maximal exercise test in temperate conditions, and three heat stress tests (32 °C, 40% relative humidity) in which they received upper-body cooling (COOL-UB), lower-body cooling (COOL-LB) or no cooling (CON) in randomized counterbalanced order. Each heat stress test consisted of 4 exercise blocks of 15 min at 50% of peak power output, with 3 min of rest in between. Cooling was applied using water-perfused pads, with 14.8 m tubing in both COOL-UB and COOL-LB. Results Gastrointestinal temperature was 0.2 °C (95%CI: 0.1, 0.3 °C) lower during exercise in COOL-UB versus CON (37.5 ± 0.4 vs. 37.7 ± 0.3 °C, p = 0.009), with no difference between COOL-LB and CON (p = 1.0). Heart rate was lower in both COOL-UB (-7 bpm, 95%CI: -11, -3 bpm, p = 0.01) and COOL-LB (-5 bpm, 95%CI: -9, -1 bpm, p = 0.049) compared to CON. The skin temperature reduction at the cooled skin sites was larger in COOL-LB (-10.8 ± 1.1 °C) than in COOL-UB (-6.7 ± 1.4 °C, p < 0.001), which limited the cooling capacity in COOL-LB. Thermal sensation of the cooled skin sites was improved and overall thermal discomfort was lower in COOL-UB (p = 0.01 and p = 0.04) but not COOL-LB (p = 0.17 and p = 0.59) compared to CON. Conclusions Upper-body cooling more effectively reduced thermal strain than lower-body cooling in individuals with paraplegia, as it induced greater thermophysiological and perceptual benefits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper-Body versus Lower-Body Cooling in Individuals with Paraplegia during Arm-Crank Exercise in the Heat

Alkemade

Eijsvogels

Janssen

et al. 2023

Medicine &Amp; Science in Sports &Amp; Exercise

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“…23,138 An example of such a health problem is paraplegia (PA), which refers to impaired spinal cord function due to injuries, where people with such conditions become prone to thermal stress levels during active physical exercises. Mneimneh et al 147 investigated how a PCM vest could improve thermal comfort among 16 adults PA persons (ie, 42 years and bodyweight 45-82 kg) in an indoor space with a moderate air temperature (30 C) and RH levels of 50%. The study reported a significant (p < .05) reduction in core temperature during exercise for PA patients with a low thoracic injury PCM vest (0.26 C), whereas it was found to be 0.41 C for those without a PCM vest.…”

Section: Personal Cooling Effect Of Pcm During Physical Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of phase change materials on thermal comfort, greenhouse gas emissions, and potential indoor air quality issues across different climatic regions: A critical review

Amoatey

Al‐Jabri

Al‐Saadi

2022

Intl J of Energy Research

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There has been growing interest in applying phase change materials (PCMs) in buildings owing to their energy conservation/latent heat storage properties and potential to improve thermal comfort. Various reviews have extensively discussed the thermophysical properties of PCMs and their energy-saving potential in buildings. However, comprehensive reviews on the indoor thermal/ personal comfort behavior of PCMs under different climates remain limited. Therefore, this study aims to present a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of the impact of PCMs on indoor thermal comfort levels in buildings located in cities within different subclimate zones and their personal cooling effect when integrated with clothing (vest). In addition, greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potentials and indoor air pollutant emission properties of PCM-enhanced buildings were also reviewed. Hundreds of published articles of PCMs in PubMed and Scopus databases, including a manual search approach, were utilized. The results from this state-of-the-art study have shown that incorporating PCMs in buildings satisfactorily reduced the indoor air temperature of most buildings located in hot climate (BSh, BWh) zones, but very limited studies have been performed in the cold (Dfc, BSk) environments. In general, there was an improvement in the thermal comfort levels of the PCM-enhanced buildings. However, these were mostly assessed using indices such as predicted mean vote, predicted percentage of dissatisfied, comfort index, and total discomfort change, without any comprehensive survey studies (eg, based on

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“…Phase-change materials (PCMs) are a passive cooling medium used for local cooling. PCMs are mainly incorporated in clothing items and wearable devices (collars, helmets), worn on the upper part of the human body, namely the torso and the head [5,11,16,19]. PCMs are in the form of separate segments (packages), which facilitates their use and their easy replacement.…”

Section: Phase-change Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the years, various personal methods and devices for local cooling have been developed. These are mainly cooling clothing items aimed to reduce heat load and tailored to gender, workload, and the other work or protective clothing [10][11][12][13]. The most used products are vests or full suits [5,10,[14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Methods for personal cooling in hot environment used in clothing and wearables

Vasil'ev

Angelova

2021

E3S Web Conf.

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The use of an efficient personal cooling system in hot environments is becoming increasingly popular, as the increased air temperature provokes thermophysiological discomfort, heat stress, reduced productivity and could lead to several health issues. Different methods and devices for personal and local cooling have been developed over the years. The paper summarises the cooling methods applied in clothing and wearable items: phase-change materials, Peltier elements, evaporative cooling, water cooling and hybrid cooling. The local vs total (of the whole body) cooling is examined. The passive and active colling are analysed in terms of advantages, disadvantages and application.

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Experimental study on the effectiveness of the PCM cooling vest in persons with paraplegia of varying levels

Cited by 12 publications

References 42 publications

Upper-Body versus Lower-Body Cooling in Individuals with Paraplegia during Arm-Crank Exercise in the Heat

Upper-Body versus Lower-Body Cooling in Individuals with Paraplegia during Arm-Crank Exercise in the Heat

Influence of phase change materials on thermal comfort, greenhouse gas emissions, and potential indoor air quality issues across different climatic regions: A critical review

Methods for personal cooling in hot environment used in clothing and wearables

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