We can see and smell alcohol everywhere in medical environment as it is extensively used for skin disinfection. In some clinical examinations, it could be applied as conductive medium.
However, this common clinical practice may cause the patient a cold shiver when they have the alcohol wipe especially in winter as there is a temperature gap between alcohol and human body.
Here comes a novel box developed by researchers with Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), CAS to protect you from the uncomfortable shiver.
The box is all down to a device to heat alcohol cotton balls and then keep the cotton balls warm to narrow the temperature gap.
The credit of heating and warm-keeping function goes to its special bottom that has a number of holes and heat blocks distributed about with interval.
This special design ensures every alcohol cotton balls put inside the box could be evenly heated and kept warm.
After their design, the team has a two-year trial and test to know how the device works to narrow the temperature gap. And they were pleased to find the great ability of the box to keep temperature. Besides, the box has a cover that can provide a sealed space keeping the alcohol concentration at a stable state.
The box now is under further enhancement. As it cannot be used for heating the surgery alcohol cotton balls which require “really high concentration”, according to LIU Yingying, who led the team and is also a doctor.