An apparatus for improving dexterity of the bare hands in cold temperatures includes heating pads 10 disposed on the forehead, cheeks and forearms. The heating pads 10a, 10b, 10c on the forehead and cheeks stimulate the trigeminal nerve area to increase blood flow to the fingers. The heating pads 10d, 10d on the forearms 24, 24 increase the temperature of the blood flowing to the hands. Thermocouples 32 in each heating pad 10 are connected to a set-point controller 28.

A topical cooling device for cooling and desensitizing the surface of the skin of a patient is provided that includes a thermally insulating container having at least one side wall, an open end and a closed end, and internal cavity. A thermally transmitting member is included for closing the open end of said container. A refrigerant medium is provided within the cavity of the container and in contact said thermally transmitting member for cooling the surface of the skin of a patient in contact with the thermally transmitting member. The refrigerant medium can be hypertonic aqueous sodium chloride solution. The thermally transmitting member can be flexible bladder that is received within the container where the refrigerant medium is thermally insulated by the container. A lid can be attached to the open end of the container to close the device until ready for use.

A heat exchange module alone or part of a system including a control console. The HEM can include a channel enclosure assembly, a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) assembly and a heat transfer (cover) assembly. The enclosure assembly includes a channel for a heat-transfer liquid. The module can be constructed to provide for flexibility to better conform and fit on rounded and/or angular body parts and to efficiently transfer heat between the adjacent body part and the heat-transfer liquid via the TECs of the TEC assembly.

A heat exchange module alone or part of a system including a control console. The module includes a channel assembly and a heat exchange stack attached thereto, and can be used to directly cool and/or heat tissue or skin. The channel assembly includes a liquid channel. The stack can include a pair of spaced plates with thermoelectric coolers exchangers, heat reflective layers, and a core composite layer which keeps the plates spaced. To provide flexibility of the module to better fit on round body parts the stack can include a thermally-conductive plate construction between the plates which has rotational flexibility axes in the X and/or Y directions between plate portions. Optionally the channel can include windows to which the plate portions are sealed. The heat exchange stack separately or together with the channel assembly can be secured in the thickness direction with mechanical securements such as sewing or tacking to also provide for greater flexibility.

A garment that heats a portion of a human body during warm-up prior to athletic endeavor having a heater pad member with a size between the size of a common index card and an ordinary sheet of paper for localized penetrating heating of tissue and muscles. Heating is achieved by electrical heating of a heater pad member having a reflective metal foil on one side of the heater pad and thermally conductive PVF sheets on the opposite side. On the one hand, the metal foil reflects optical radiation toward a human body, while on the other hand, the PVF sheets direct infrared radiation into the human body. Control electronics and the heater pad are contained in separate pockets of the garment that are electrically connected together.

The present invention comprises a heat transfer vest. The vest is configured to mount a plurality of heat transfer packs on its interior surface. In the preferred embodiments the appropriate portions of the interior surface are covered in a hook-compatible material. In these versions, the thermal transfer packs include one or more hook panels that are used to attach the packs to the interior surface.

A thermal treatment device comprising a far infrared ray material, a radiation reflection layer, and a heat energy source, wherein the radiation reflection layer is positioned between the far infrared ray material and the heat energy source.

A gel-pack has a plurality of self-contained components organized as layers in an interior chamber of the gel-pack. Each layer may be inserted into, and removed from, the interior chamber individually. The components include a solid-state gel layer that stores thermal energy, a first radiant energy barrier that prevents the transfer of thermal energy radiating from an exterior of the gel-pack into the solid-state gel layer, and a second radiant energy barrier that reflects the thermal energy radiating from the user's body into the solid-state gel layer.

A patient warming device (400), which can be configured as a patient warming blanket (207), patient warming drape (300), or surgical drape (500), includes the top layer of material and optionally a bottom layer of material. The top layer (401) can be formed by laminating non-woven fabric (301) to a film layer (100) or by needle punching fibers through the film layer (100). The film layer (100) has a thermally reflective side (404) and a thermally absorptive side (405). The patient warming device (400) can be used in a patient warming system (700) with one or more light sources (701,702) and an optional control module (704) to warm a patient during and after medical procedures.

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to systems and methods for treating hypothermia in a subject is disclosed. In an embodiment, a method includes determining or measuring a temperature of a target region of the subject. The method also includes responsive to determining or measuring the temperature, directing electromagnetic energy at an external surface of the target region of the subject effective to heat the target region to a temperature of less than an ablation temperature of the target region.