BehindTheMedspeak: World's Coolest Hat

Literally.

Pictured above on Dr. Manuel Gonzalez-Brito, an assistant professor of pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Miami, it's the new new thing in controlled hypothermia for brain injuries.

Kathleen Hom wrote about the device in yesterday's Washington Post Health section; her story follows.

Just My Size, and So Cool-Looking, Too

Who says hospital garb can't be cool? Not Manuel Gonzalez-Brito and John Kuluz, professors of pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Miami. They're researching how body-chilling devices, such as the helmet above, minimize injuries tied to cardiac arrest, as well as brain and spinal cord traumas.

Mild hypothermia induced by cooling blankets, cooling helmets or chilled intravenous saline solution can reduce brain and spinal cord swelling and decrease inflammation, says Kuluz. (Doctors induced mild hypothermia after Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett injured his spine during an NFL game last month.)

Doctors first induced hypothermia in the 1950s but stopped in the '70s after over-cooling harmed patients, Kuluz says. They resumed the technique after learning how to avoid ill effects by cooling to just 2 or 3 degrees Celsius below normal body temperature.

But there are still intricacies to work out, including how to speed the process (it can take up to two hours to lower an adult's body temperature), how to avoid fluctuations in temperature and how long patients can safely remain in a hypothermic state.