Forced convective head cooling device reduces human cross-sectional brain temperature measured by magnetic resonance: a non-randomized healthy volunteer pilot study

B. A. Harris, Peter Andrews, I. Marshall, T. M. Robinson, G. D. Murray

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Background This pilot study in five healthy adult humans forms the pre-clinical assessment of the effect of a forced convective head cooling device on intracranial temperature, measured non-invasively by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).

Methods After a 10 min baseline with no cooling, subjects received 30 min of head cooling followed by 30 min of head and neck cooling via a hood and neck collar delivering 14.5°C air at 42.5 litre s−1. Over baseline and at the end of both cooling periods, MRS was performed, using chemical shift imaging, to measure brain temperature simultaneously across a single slice of brain at the level of the basal ganglia. Oesophageal temperature was measured continuously using a fluoroptic thermometer.

Results MRS brain temperature was calculated for baseline and the last 10 min of each cooling period. The net brain temperature reduction with head cooling was 0.45°C (SD 0.23°C, P=0.01, 95% CI 0.17–0.74°C) and with head and neck cooling was 0.37°C (SD 0.30°C, P=0.049, 95% CI 0.00–0.74°C). The equivalent net reductions in oesophageal temperature were 0.16°C (SD 0.04°C) and 0.36°C (SD 0.12°C). Baseline-corrected brain temperature gradients from outer through intermediate to core voxels were not significant for either head cooling (P=0.43) or head and neck cooling (P=0.07), indicating that there was not a significant reduction in cooling with progressive depth into the brain.

Conclusions Convective head cooling reduced MRS brain temperature and core brain was cooled.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)365-372
Number of pages8
JournalBritish Journal of Anaesthesia
Volume100
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2008

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • brain, cooling
  • healthy volunteers
  • measurement techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance
  • temperature, brain

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