Fieldhouse Engineering have developed a thermal pad that can be attached to the arm or hand in order to provide specific temperatures for experimental purposes. The device can be operated in a safe range of -10 to 55 degrees with a variety of functions including a ramp, step and pulsating responses. The thermal pad is based on the peltier effect and utilises a custom water cooled system. The unit housing has been designed and 3D printed in house and the unit is operated using a micro controller through an H bridge setup. The micro controller was programmed with a custom PID function in order to achieve the temperatures desired as fast as possible without overshoot. This device was designed to contain no ferrous materials such that it can be used within an fMRI machine.
