A subject's forehead, and underlying pre-frontal cortex may be cooled by positioning a pre-cooled heat transfer pack on the subject's forehead so that the heat transfer pack is in thermal communication with the subject's forehead, the temperature of the pre-cooled heat transfer pack being below 10 Celsius. Thermal communication between the subject's forehead and the heat transfer pack may be maintained for a period of time sufficient to cool the subject's pre-frontal cortex. Cooling of the pre-frontal cortex may slow the metabolic rate of the subject's pre-frontal cortex and/or induce an onset of sleep for the subject.

A thermal management system and method are presented for cooling an entity. The system comprises: a closed loop fluid flow line for flow of a coolant while being transferred in between its liquid and gas phases; at least one cooling zone located within the flow line and comprising at least one cooling interface; a vacuum generator unit operable for creating and maintaining vacuum condition at the cooling zone to thereby reduce evaporation temperature of the coolant located in the cooling zone; and a condensation zone spaced apart from the cooling interface downstream thereof with respect to a direction of the coolant flow from the cooling zone along the closed loop path wherein the coolant is condensed to liquid phase.

A personal cooling system for maintaining an individual at a preferred predetermined temperature in the outdoor environment of a venue, for an extended period of time, according to one embodiment includes a first cooling element comprising a phase change material (PCM) and at least one cooling station for providing any one of an additional one or more frozen cooling elements, each having a PCM, and at least one freezing medium for freezing any of said cooling elements. The cooling station is installed at the venue.

The present invention relates to a medical device for treating, preventing or ameliorating an eye condition. The device comprises a cover, at least a portion of which comprises an antimicrobial agent and is at least partially filled with temperature control means. In use, the cover is arranged to contact a subject's eye and/or a surrounding area thereof, and the temperature control means is configured to modulate the temperature of the cover to thereby treat, prevent or ameliorate the eye condition.

Methods, systems and devices for treating headaches, including migraines. In some variations these methods may include enhancing sleep, including enhancing the quality of sleep, reducing sleep onset time, increasing total sleep time, treating insomnia, and/or treating other neurological disorders by non-invasive temperature regulation of the frontal cortex prior to and/or during sleep.

An implant includes a shape-memory material having a transformation temperature. The implantable element is configured to be implanted, and to perform a first therapeutic function when the shape-memory material is in a first shape. An energy applicator is configured to change the shape-memory material from the first shape to a second shape by raising a temperature of the shape-memory material to the transformation temperature by radiating energy to the implant from outside the body. The implant is configured to perform a second therapeutic function while the shape-memory material is in the second shape, the second therapeutic function being qualitatively different from the first therapeutic function. Other embodiments are also described.

A human body is cooled at an appropriate temperature, and a sufficient usage time is ensured. A cooling tool according to one aspect of the present invention is a cooling tool for cooling a human body, including a freezing material 30a that undergoes a phase change at a particular temperature and a first container containing the freezing material 30a. The first container transfers heat between the human body and the freezing material at a contact surface in contact with the skin of the human body. At least the contact surface has a thermal effusivity within the possible range of thermal effusivity of the skin of the human body. The contact surface may have a thermal effusivity (J/(m2S1/2.Math.K)) of 1,000 to 2,000.

Provided is a cooling tool that keeps a cooling object cold by utilizing the latent heat of a cold storage material and can visualize the physical condition of the cooling tool, i.e., can indicate whether the use condition of the cooling tool is appropriate. For example, when leakage of the cold storage material occurs, the cooling tool indicates the leakage of the cold storage material and shows whether the temperature is appropriate for keeping the cooling object cold. The cooling tool keeps the cooling object cold by utilizing the latent heat of a freezable material and includes: the freezable material that undergoes phase change at a specific temperature; a cold storage layer including a first container portion that contains the freezable material; and a condition indicator that shows the physical condition of the freezable material.

An economical dual modality system is useful in a system for independent delivery of two distinct energy modalities to a mammalian body and includes a thermal subsystem. The thermal subsystem includes a thermal source affixed to flexible web having an adhesive surface and at least one structure arranged and configured to couple the thermal subsystem to a chassis comprising a durable energy subsystem.

The presented invention is directed to an apparatus and methods of thermal treatment for a body and/or limb of a subject. Embodiments of the invention include a composite for maintaining temperature and moisture levels surrounding the body or limb to which the composite may be applied. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes a moisture retention material, a temperature retention material, and a vapor barrier material.