COOLing of the Ischemic PENumbra in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke.

This study will develop and validate a novel, active/conductive combined head and neck cooling system to selectively cool the ischemic penumbra during the acute phase of stroke, reducing neuronal damage and improving stroke outcomes. It complements existing reperfusion therapies offering a scalable neuroprotective option which will have wider implications across diverse healthcare settings. PHASE I: Technology Development \& Test Bench Optimization (Years 1-2) PHASE II: Validation in healthy volunteers (Year 3) PHASE III: Pilot, multicenter, randomized controlled (Phase 2a) trial (Year 4-5):