Wearable patch offers personalised temperature regulation

The proof-of-concept device from the University of California San Diego is a soft, stretchy patch that cools or warms a user's skin to a comfortable temperature and maintains it as the ambient temperature changes. It is powered by a flexible, stretchable battery pack and can be embedded in clothing. The work is detailed in Science Advances.

"This type of device can improve your personal thermal comfort whether you are commuting on a hot day or feeling too cold in your office," said Renkun Chen, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC San Diego who led the study. "If wearing this device can make you feel comfortable within a wider temperature range, you won't need to turn down the thermostat as much in the summer or crank up the heat as much in the winter.”

The patch is made of thermoelectric alloys sandwiched between stretchy elastomer sheets. The researchers embedded a prototype of the patch into a mesh armband and tested it on a male subject in a temperature-controlled environment. In two minutes, the patch cooled the tester's skin to a set temperature of 89.6^oF and maintained this level as the ambient temperature was varied between 71.6 and 96.8^oF.