Summary
JACE: A cooling vest for women in menopause
Hot flashes are a common symptom for women in menopause. Jace is a smart piece of clothing that helps women during a hot flash. Jace will be able to sense the temperature of a woman’s body and react to it. When the temperature exceeds a specific temperature, the product starts cooling down. Jace also has a mental influence on the woman wearing it. First, because it is integrated in a fashionable textile, it is not perceived as an obvious (stigmatizing) product. Second, the sheer idea of Jace cooling you down during a hot flash reduces anxiety and hereby lowering the chance of actually developing a hot flash. The technology behind this product is the Peltier Effect. When an electric current is applied on a Peltier-device one side of the product will turn cold, while the other side becomes warm. By integrating the Peltier-devices in fabrics with the cold side turned to the skin, it makes the cloth able to cool down. Several configurations of Peltier-devices were tested during this project. Smart textiles are becoming more and more a topic of discussion. The integration of electronics in clothing promises a variety of new products and applications.
Graduation Project of: Geertje Hofstee
Collaborators
Geertje Hofstee, Kaspar Jansen
Involved Members