Muayad Algburi1
1Department of Medical Physics and Radiotherapy Technology Engineering, Sawa University,
Muthanna, Iraq.

Abstract
Temperature stability is a critical requirement in many medical devices and healthcare workflows, where
uncontrolled thermal excursions can degrade measurement accuracy, reliability, and component lifetime.
Phase change materials (PCMs) offer compact, near-isothermal thermal buffering; however, practical
deployment is often limited by low thermal conductivity and cycle-dependent heat-transfer behavior. This
focused review synthesizes peer-reviewed studies on nano-enhanced PCMs (NePCMs) and finned latent
heat buffer architectures for medical-oriented thermal management, with emphasis on melting–freezing
cycling, repeatability, and design trade-offs relevant to device integration. We summarize enhancement
routes (extended surfaces, high-conductivity nanoparticles, and hybrid structures), discuss the competing
effects of nanoparticle loading (conductivity gains versus viscosity-driven weakening of natural
convection), and highlight why conclusions drawn from melting alone may not translate to full-cycle
performance. The review also outlines common evaluation and design-optimization approaches (e.g., CFD
based parametric studies and systematic optimization methods) and identifies performance metrics that
better reflect medical needs (e.g., cycle time, thermal holdover, and temperature-band compliance). Finally,
we provide practical design guidelines and research gaps for translating NePCM-based latent-heat buffers
into medical-device component cooling, including packaging, leakage prevention, cycling reliability, and
manufacturability.

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