Cooling thermoelectric device for the treatment of injuries of the spine and spinal cord

Abstract

Objective. The aim of the study is to develop a cooling thermoelectric device for physiotherapeutic methods of treating spine and spinal cord injuries based on local hypothermia. Method. Methods of thermodynamic analysis, natural and computational modeling of cryogenic equipment are applied. It is advisable to use cooling TEUs that have the following properties: reliability, environmental friendliness, noiselessness, functionality and compactness. Result. A segmental design of a cooling TEU is proposed, one segment of which includes a heat-dissipating rib cooled by a TEU, brought into thermal contact with the injured area of the spine, a TEU and a radiator for removing heat from it. Several segments of the device are used, which are attached to each other using a special device. During CTED operation, all radiators are blown by a fan unit. The dependencies were obtained and graphs were constructed describing the main characteristics of the TEU: change in the refrigeration capacity of the TEM, the coefficient of performance, supply voltage from the temperature difference between the junctions of the thermoelements for different values of the supply current, the dependence of the voltage on the TEM on the supply current at different values of the temperature difference between the junctions of the thermoelements, as well as the dependence of the coefficient of performance of the TEM on the supply current. The graphs are presented at a temperature of the hot junctions of the TEM of 45 °C. Conclusion. The DRIFT-1.2 TEM manufactured by Krioterm LLC, St. Petersburg, can be used. TEM parameters: operating power range of a single TEM is from 37 to 60 W with an average temperature difference between junctions of 35 K, supply current is from 4.8 to 8.2 A with a power consumption of 90 to 260 W, cooling coefficient is from 0.25 to 0.6.