Frontal cortex cooling and modulation of brain frequencies using a wearable Peltier device

Heatstroke occurs when brain's thermoregulation mechanism fails, resulting in hyperthermia leading to disability and death if untreated within first half hour. To prevent heatstroke, a temperature-controlled Peltierbased Wearable Head Cooling Device (WHCD) is developed for providing cooling to the frontal cortex region of the brain. Thirty volunteers tested WHCD in three groups for three 6-min trials with a 2-min resting period. Group A, B, and C were given stimulation with WHCD, noise, and WHCD with noise, respectively. Testing WHCD for perceived stress and usability, revealed a low stress score with an acceptable usability. Applying ANOVA and post-hoc analysis, the brain's power spectral density from electroencephalography found greatest increase in & alpha;-frequency and decrease in & theta;-frequency for group A, followed by group C, while group B indicated opposite change in both frequency bands. In conclusion, the WHCD can be effective for heatstroke prevention by modulating the brain to a relaxed state.