‘Every part of it was shaped by the women we worked closely with throughout its development,’ Aonghus O’Donovan said.

A cooling wearable co-developed by Offaly-native engineer Aonghus O’Donovan has made it onto Time magazine’s coveted annual best inventions list, just a year after it first hit the market.

MyCelsius, the UK-based company behind the wearable, was founded by chief technology officer O’Donovan and CEO Maxime Kryvian. O’Donovan studied mechanical engineering at the University of Limerick before working for well-known brands including Dyson.

The patent-pending cooling bracelet was developed over three years with input from women going through perimenopause and menopause, along with specialist doctors and thermal health specialists.

The device incorporates a small system which uses thermoelectric cooling to lower skin temperature by 10 degrees Celsius within 10 seconds, and 20 degrees during a three-minute session, according to the company. A ‘night mode’ offers up to eight hours of cooling during sleep, it added.

Time magazine’s prestigious annual list of 300 best inventions is compiled through nominations from its editors and correspondents, as well as via an online application process. The MyCelsius cooling bracelet’s placement in the health and wellness category is “incredible”, the CEO said.

“For too long, millions of women (and men) experiencing hot flushes have been expected to simply put up with them,” said Kryvian. “We set out to change that by developing something practical, discreet and backed by science that is genuinely useful.”

The device, sold in Europe, is set for its US launch next year.

“There’s a lot of engineering packed into something you hardly notice you’re wearing, and every part of it was shaped by the women we worked closely with throughout its development,” said O’Donovan.

Last year, Irish health-tech Akara’s AI sensor for hospitals found itself on the coveted Time magazine list. In 2019, its robot Stevie was also a list entrant, even making it onto the cover of the magazine. Trinity College Dublin spin-out Nexalus’s proprietary liquid cooling technology, meanwhile, was also featured on the list in 2025.

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