Simulating human physiological response with a thermal manikin testing different non active medical devices

Abstract

The thermal insulation of a clothing system represents a quantitative assessment of the way cloth provides thermal barrier to the user. One of this clothing systems, the surgical gown used in the operating theatre, is considered as a non-active medical device and obeys the Medical Device Directive 93/43/EEC. New materials and gowns are being developed, fitting the level of the barrier function with the comfort issues and therefore the selection of the most suitable gown is vital. During the last 60 years, thermal manikins have been used to measure clothing insulation and to assess the thermal environment regarding comfort issues. The main goal of the present study is the comparison of the thermal insulation values during the objective evaluation using the dry thermal manikin with the results obtained using an Infra-Red camera ThermaCAM, monitoring the temperature development of different surgical gowns at a constant skin temperature of 33 ºC in neutral environmental conditions.