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Student's cold water exposure device wins award

Hannah WalshSouth of England
News imageBBC Rupert Murphy standing in front of the sea at Alum Chine in Bournemouth. He is wearing a white shirt which has multicoloured lines on it. He is stood on the sand. He is holding the Re-Warm device. It is orange with a blue base and black strap.BBC
Rupert Murphy designed the device because of his own love for water sports

A student has been recognised for his work designing a new device to help increase body temperature after cold water exposure.

Rupert Murphy, a product design student from Bournemouth University, developed 'Re-Warm' as he was looking for ways to warm up after water sports.

The device works by increasing the body's core temperature using warm humidified air that is breathed in.

Murphy won the New Designer of the Year Award for his work at the New Designers Awards in London.

News imageThe image shows the device sat on the beach. The sea is in vision behind it. The device has a blue base and the rest is orange. It has a clear mouth and nose piece. It has a black strap on it which says 'Re-Warm'.
The device has been praised for filling a critical gap in hypothermia treatments

Whilst travelling back to shore, an individuals core temperature can continue to fall.

Blankets and foil wraps help to reduce exposure but they do not actively warm.

That's why Murphy designed 'Re-Warm' to help target a heat-loss pathway, the airways.

Murphy said: "Rewarm is a product designed to bridge the gap between rescue and definitive care.

"I specifically looked at cold water emersion. It's applicable to other areas as well, like mountain rescue.

"In a rescue scenario, the only option that for instance the RNLI or search and rescue really has is insulation, so they can do foil blankets.

"So this keeps what heat you have left in but it can't actively start adding warmth to a casualty, which is where Re-Warm comes in and fills that gap."

News imageThe image shows a number of awards sat on a wooden table. There is a frame which says 'New Designers 2026 Rising Star Award'. There is a orange award, a Cadbury award and Joseph Joseph award. In the background, there are a number of grey prototypes and the finished orange and blue product.
Rupert Murphy won New Designer of the Year at the New Designers Award.

When asked how it works, Murphy said: "The device uses simple electronics which warms a water reservoir, which you pass fresh air over.

"This collects the heat and humidity, which you then breathe in and warms you from the core first."

Murphy hopes the device can be taken forward to one day have a meaningful impact.

He said: "I hope to take it forward or license it and allow another company to take it forward for me.

"I would love to see it out in the world making a difference."

He says being awarded New Designer of the Year award was "just incredible."

"To get to new designers and talk to professionals about it was enough and being awarded new designer of the year was an insane feeling.

"I still haven't quite realised that yet."

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