An non-planar microfluidic cooling device for body weight loss and obesity prevention in rat models

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The human body at early developmental stages produces white and brown fat tissues. Brown fat cells (Brown Adipose Tissues (BAT)) are used for keeping specific regions of the body warm via thermogenic activities (i.e., metabolic burning of brown fat to heat). The idea of stimulating the body to produce more brown fat and hence convert more calories to heat has become very appealing for concurring obesity. It has been shown that exposure to cold temperatures can effectively stimulate the rate of brown fat production and thermogenesis. Spark Innovations is interested in studying BAT thermogenesis in rat animal models of obesity and using the developed knowledge to devise weight loss devices for humans. For this, the company requires a cooling vest technology that allows for thermal stimulation of specific regions of the body (i.e., interscapular BAT) of the rats in the range of 5-15C. The novel cooling device that is proposed to be developed in this project will be cord-less and allow for accurate (95%) and precise (±1C) thermal stimulation, temperature uniformity (<1C over 6cm2), intermittent (~0.25-3hr) thermal cycling, and physical flexibility to conform to the shape of the skin for efficient heat exchange. To achieve this device, three objectives during two research phases will be pursued: 1) Development of a composite polymer with high thermal conductivity, low specific heat capacity, and flexibility for replication molding into a non-planar layer that conforms to the skin making an efficient thermal contact; 2) Development of a light-weight, small-scale, battery-operated microfluidic temperature modulator; and 3) Integration of the thermally conductive non-planar layer with the thermal modulation unit and its testing.