# Ambulatory cryocooling therapy device

> **NIH NIH R44** · NANOHMICS, INC. · 2022 · $258,500

## Abstract

PI: Savoy
Project Summary
Tissue protection following injury begins with shutting down vasodilation and limiting
subsequent swelling through the application of cold. In many cases, the cold comes in the form
of bags of ice or frozen cold packs, or commercial cooling products such ice packs or ice pack
holding limb wraps. In others it may be via a chilled water circulator device, for example the
Polar Care Kodiak Cold Therapy where ice water is sent from the “holding box” through ¾”
tubing into a cooling pad applied to the skin. The drawback with ice and frozen packs is the risk
of skin burn and soft tissue damage stemming from skin contact with such a low temperature.
With as little as 20-30 minutes of an icepack lying against the skin, damage may occur.
However, studies have shown that 20 minutes of cooling one time is not enough to change the
course of treatment and decrease the swelling. Longer term cooling is needed to make a
difference. However, the patient’s functional mobility and compliance is limited due the bulk of
the apparatus, and this discourages longer term use and increases risks associated with deep
vein thrombosis which combine decrease patient outcome. Ideally, the device could be worn
“hands-free” for extended periods providing a long-term (full day) programmable therapeutic
regimen which includes periods of anti-inflammation (T ~ 10 °C) followed by brief periods of
elevated temperature (T ~ 20 °C) to prevent skin damage.
An alternative electrical-to-thermal cooling device that could be applied directly to the injury
site would increase patient adoption and improve patient therapy benefit. Nanohmics’ direct
electric-to-thermal approach to address this shortcoming will provide programmable
temperature control over the entire contact region in a low-profile, low-power consumption
device that will enable the patient full ambulatory freedom during the therapeutic regimen after
injury (e.g. ankle/wrist sprain) or surgery (e.g. knee arthroscopy). No ice means there are no
issues with melting and replacement, and the temperature can be programmed for cold (anti-
inflammatory) and heat (cellular debris clearing, thrombosis) which may lead to benefits in
decreased pain medicine consumption, post-injury range of motion, and decreased pain score
and risks associated with deep vein thrombosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10603705
- **Project number:** 1R44AR081321-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NANOHMICS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Steve Michael Savoy
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $258,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-23 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10603705

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10603705, Ambulatory cryocooling therapy device (1R44AR081321-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10603705. Licensed CC0.

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