Cool dress for hot women

Hot flashes are a common symptom of the menopause. No product so far targets this problem in a physical way. You can of course resort to hormone replacement therapy, drugs like selective estrogen receptor modulators or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. But that is all quite drastic, Geertje Hofstee believes.

For her graduation, on September 5, 2014 from the Industrial Design Engineering faculty, Hofstee designed a dress that can sense the temperature of a woman’s body and react to it. When the temperature exceeds a specific temperature, the product starts cooling her down. She calls it the Jace.

The technology behind this product is the Peltier Effect. When a 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. 

The section Product Engineering of IDE faculty is now looking for students who want to continue working on this piece of garment in the hope ultimately to bring it on the market.

Whilst Hofstee developed a dress that cools down, after much thought, thinks that a sports bra might be better to alleviate women suffering from hot flashes. “That would be the most practical garment because women wear a bra anyway”, she says. “The most important areas of the body that need cooling, including those on the back, are covered by a sports bra.”