THE LIQUID NITROGEN SUPPLING EVOLUTION FOR THE CRYOTHERAPY COMPLEX COOLING SYSTEM

Abstract

BACKGROUND: At the moment, for over 25 years in the Russian Federation, single-seat units for general cryotherapy treatment (cryosaunas) have been manufactured and used in clinical practice. General cryotherapy treatment is a physiotherapeutic procedure based on short-term contact of the entire surface of the human skin with a gas medium cooled to cryogenic temperatures. Reducing the skin temperature due to intensive heat removal to the cryogenic gas - the coolant stimulates the cold receptors of the skin and creates conditions for the treatment of a number of socially significant diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, bronchial asthma, allergies, etc. The main operational problem of cryotherapy units is related to the fact that when in contact with the cryogenic gas, the skin of patients releases a large amount of accumulated heat. The most effective way to remove this heat flow is to use liquid nitrogen as a heat-absorbing medium - a cryoagent. The world's first cryotherapy installation used liquid nitrogen, and with its help the effectiveness of general cryotherapy action was discovered and proven. Subsequently, the effectiveness of nitrogen cooling systems was questioned and in a number of countries they were replaced by compression refrigeration systems. In Russia, nitrogen cooling technology was developed and adapted to the design of single-seat cryotherapy systems. Due to this, this type of cryosauna allows for maximum cryotherapy effect with minimal liquid nitrogen consumption.

AIMS is to analyze the units for supplying liquid nitrogen to the cooling system of cryosaunas and to identify the most effective technology.

RESULTS: It was found that using nitrogen cooling systems, it is possible to remove a greater amount of heat, while energy costs will be minimal, moreover, no additional refrigeration equipment is required. Contact nitrogen cooling systems have lower thermal inertia, and the efficiency of using liquid cryoagent is higher. It is proposed to use an alternative cryoagent in multi-seat cryotherapy units.

CONCLUSIONS: the using of nitrogen contact cooling systems in single-seat cryotherapy systems is the most energetically and technologically justified.

Keywords

cryotherapy; liquid nitrogen; cryosauna, whole body cryotherapy, cryoagent,WBC.