Trust to trial brain cooling collar for head injury patients

 

All this earlier research was inconclusive. My posts on hypothermia didn't show much benefit so ask your competent? doctor if they have trialed hypothermia in their hospital and the results.

hypothermia (58 posts to February 2011)

Trust to trial brain cooling collar for head injury patients

A study will assess whether a cooling collar can improve recovery after traumatic brain injury.

The device, named CB240 Aurora, is applied around the neck and aims to lower brain temperature in a targeted way.

Brain cooling, or induced hypothermia, can limit swelling after stroke or head injury. Whole-body cooling can cause side effects such as immune suppression and chest infections.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, said the trial would be the “world’s first in-human study” of the device.

The collar is described as a selective temperature-control device that aims to avoid the side effects linked with whole-body cooling.

The system is portable and could be used outside hospital settings such as at roadsides or sporting events.

The trial will begin this month at Addenbrooke’s under the neurosciences and trauma critical care teams. The hospital specialises in the treatment of brain injuries and tumours.

Twenty patients with severe traumatic brain injury are expected to be enrolled over 12 months in the study, named SELETHERM 2.

Half will be randomised to receive selective brain cooling with the collar for the first 72 hours, while the remainder will receive standard current therapies.

Dr Andrea Lavinio, who is leading the study, said: “In traumatic brain injury, hypothermia has long been considered a potentially neuroprotective strategy, but large clinical trials have not demonstrated a consistent benefit.”

“One possible explanation is that the side-effects associated with whole-body cooling may outweigh any neuroprotective effects.”

“This pilot study will assess whether selective, brain-directed temperature control can be delivered while minimising systemic effects.”

Neuroprotective refers to strategies that protect brain cells from damage or death.

Dr Lavinio is a minority shareholder in Neuron Guard S.R.L, the company that developed the prototypes.

James Piercy, who suffered a severe head injury after a road accident in 2011, has advised on the study from a patient’s perspective.

He said: “I’m really excited to help the HealthTech Research Centre support technologies like this.

“Reducing the risk of the secondary injuries produced by brain swelling can dramatically improve people’s chances of a good quality of life after an accident.”