All circulating cooling systems started with NASA
From MSAA’s “Multiple Sclerosis and Cooling, Third Edition:
http://www.mymsaa.org/publications/cooling/#space
Space Technology
Refines Cooling
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
developed space suits to protect astronauts from the hazards of space. A space
suit, however, will also trap heat inside the suit. To stabilize an astronaut's
body temperature, space suits are equipped with an undergarment containing a
network of small tubes held against the body. A chilled liquid is pumped
through these tubes, removing the body's heat by heat transfer between the skin
and the tubes. These garments are known as liquid-cooled garments (LCG's), but
are often referred to as "cool suits." Cool suits are now used in a
variety of industrial and military applications.
Known for their expertise with LCG's, NASA scientists
continued to refine and adapt this technology for the advancement of biomedical
research. These advancements include cooling systems for cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy, children who suffer from HED (insufficient sweat
glands), and those
diagnosed with MS.
MSAA Advances Cooling
Technology
As MSAA and NASA continued to expand the science of cooling
and MS, both agencies realized the need to pool resources and accelerate the
goal of bringing symptom relief to thousands of people with MS. On May 23,
1994, officials from MSAA and NASA signed a "Memorandum of
Understanding" to establish a framework for cooperative efforts.
This provided a springboard from which many joint endeavors
have been completed. These include national workshops, equipment evaluations,
and finally, a national clinical research study funded by NASA, in which MSAA
staff played a significant role.
Enhancement of Cognitive
Processing by Multiple Sclerosis
Patients Using Liquid Cooling Technology: A Case Study
L.D. Montgomery, R.W. Montgomery, Y.E. Ku, Lockheed Martin
Engineering & Sciences Company; and NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett
Field, California (completed in 1997).
A Randomized
Controlled Study of the Acute and Chronic Effects of Cooling Therapy for MS
S.R. Schwid, MD; M.D. Petrie, RN (University of Rochester,
Rochester, New York); R. Murray, MD, Jennifer Leitch, RN (Rocky Mountain MS
Center, Englewood, Colorado); J. Bowen, MD, A. Alquist, PhD (University of
Washington, Seattle, Washington);
R.G. Pellegrino, MD, PhD, Maria Dawn Milan, RN (Institute for Neurology and
Neuroscience Research, Hot Springs, Arkansas);
Adam Roberts, Judith Harper-Bennie (Multiple Sclerosis Association of America);
R. Guisado, MD (Center for Neurodiagnostic Research, San Jose, California); B.
Luna, MS, Leslie Montgomery, PhD, Richard Lamparter, MS, Yu-Tsuan Ku, MS, Hank
Lee, BS, Danielle Goldwater, MD (NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field,
California); G. Cutter, PhD (AMC Cancer Research Center, Denver, Colorado,
independent biostatistician); Bruce Webbon, PhD (NASA program manager and
principal investigator), Neurology, 2003, 60, pp. 1955-1960.
