Intranasal Cooling for Encephalopathy Prevention (ICEP)

This work will validate a new method to quickly and safely cool the brain and body in a combat setting to help those with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Cooling the brain reduces edema (swelling), which has been shown to improve survival rates and brain function. Current techniques that try to provide early cooling for TBI are impractical in the combat setting, have potential safety risks or they are not effective in cooling. We are currently developing a device for use in a commercial hospital environment for treating fever and cooling post-ischemic events, such as cardiac arrest. This simple device uses no active chemicals or other potentially harmful materials. We believe that it can be modified such that it can be used in a combat setting, at the event site. We will demonstrate the safety and cooling efficacy of our existing device in a pig study. We will also examine the commercial device to assess the level of effort to harden it for use in a combat setting.