Cooling glove dubbed 'better than steroids'

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a device that rapidly cools body temperature, greatly improves exercise recovery, and could help explain why muscles get tired. The rapid thermal exchange device is nicknamed "the glove".

The temperature-regulation research of Stanford biologists H. Craig Heller and Dennis Grahn, the glove creates a vacuum that draws blood to the surface of the palms. Cold circulating water cools the blood, which returns to the heart and rapidly lowers the body's core temperature.

"We really stumbled on this by accident," Mr Grahn said. "We wanted to get a model for studying heat dissipation."

Mr Grahn claims the glove could have effects equal to or substantially better than steroids. The glove takes advantage of specialized heat-transfer veins in the palms of hands. This means it can rapidly cool athletes' core temperatures and dramatically improve exercise recovery and performance.

A commercial version of the glove is currently in development.