Researchers from the U.S. Army are attempting to develop a glove-less device for heating cold hands.

A prototype of what the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) is calling a “personal heating dexterity device” would warm the hands of military personnel during outdoor operations.

To develop the device, the team is taking cues from earlier research that suggests that warming upper extremities, for instance the forearm, will improve blood flow to lower extremities, thereby increasing the temperature of hands and fingers. As such, the device in development incorporates heating patches to be worn on the forearm and attached in an unobtrusive way.

Cold hands and fingers can complicate just about any task, running the gamut from simple, such as texting or handling equipment, to dangerous, such as reloading ammo in a battlefield scenario or treating an injury. Likewise, these tasks would be further complicated by the introduction of gloves, which is the only solution currently available for keeping hands warm in cold climates.

For now, it is still too early to tell if the design of the device will improve blood flow to the wearer’s fingers and it could be years before a product is appropriate for military use. Yet, once a product is ready, the developers believe that a glove-less device for keeping hands warm will also be appropriate for those working outdoors during the winter months, including athletes, line workers, mechanics and construction workers.