Abstract: A kit for establishing and maintaining hypothermia in a patient for neurotherapeutic purposes includes a high cooling capacity catheter that is advanced into the patient's central venous system to quickly cool the patient to, e.g., 32° C. or so. Once hypothermia has been established, the high capacity catheter is removed and replaced with a lower cooling capacity catheter which maintains a desired reduced temperature. The lower capacity catheter advantageously can be configured as a central venous catheter for permitting the catheter to be used for multiple functions. Alternatively, the high cooling capacity catheter can be used to attenuate a fever and lower the patient's body temperature to normal, with the lower capacity catheter being used to maintain normal body temperature.

Abstract: A kit for establishing and maintaining hypothermia in a patient for neurotherapeutic purposes includes a high cooling capacity catheter that is advanced into the patient's central venous system to quickly cool the patient to, e.g., 32° C. or so. Once hypothermia has been established, the high capacity catheter is removed and replaced with a lower cooling capacity catheter which maintains a desired reduced temperature. The lower capacity catheter advantageously can be configured as a central venous catheter for permitting the catheter to be used for multiple functions. Alternatively, the high cooling capacity catheter can be used to attenuate a fever and lower the patient's body temperature to normal, with the lower capacity catheter being used to maintain normal body temperature.

Abstract: A kit for establishing and maintaining hypothermia in a patient for neurotherapeutic purposes includes a high cooling capacity catheter that is advanced into the patient's central venous system to quickly cool the patient to, e.g., 32° C. or so. Once hypothermia has been established, the high capacity catheter is removed and replaced with a lower cooling capacity catheter which maintains a desired reduced temperature. The lower capacity catheter advantageously can be configured as a central venous catheter for permitting the catheter to be used for multiple functions. Alternatively, the high cooling capacity catheter can be used to attenuate a fever and lower the patient's body temperature to normal, with the lower capacity catheter being used to maintain normal body temperature.

Abstract: A system for exchanging heat with the body of a patient for cooling or warming the patient provides for automatic temperature control in accordance with the monitored temperature of the patient. The system comprises a temperature control module and temperature probes for making body core temperature measurements. The body core temperature measurements are used to control the temperature of fluid circulating within the fluid circuit.

Abstract: A catheter using multiple hollow fibers to carry a heating/cooling fluid employs fiber spreading features to improve heat transfer and help prevent clotting of body fluids within which the catheter is immersed. The catheter includes a length of outer tube surrounding an inner tube. The inner tube conveys fluids in one direction, and the passageway between inner and outer tubes conveys fluids in the opposite direction. The inner and outer tubes have proximal distal ends. The distal end is closed, but the proximal end is open to permit introduction of a heating or cooling fluid into the inner tube, and withdrawal of the fluid from the passageway between the inner and outer tubes. At the tubes' distal end resides a proximal fluid transfer housing coupled to multiple hollow heat exchange fibers. The distal ends of these fibers may be commonly connected to a distal fluid transfer housing and optional reservoir, which cooperatively return fluid to the passageway between inner and outer tubes.

Abstract: A heat exchange catheter has a catheter body with an inflow lumen, an outflow lumen, and an infusion lumen. A first heat exchange balloon helically wraps around at least a portion of the catheter body in fluid communication with the inflow lumen. A second heat exchange balloon helically wraps around at least a portion of the catheter body in fluid communication with the outflow lumen. The first and second balloons form a gap there between to facilitate infusion of fluid into the blood stream of the patient via an infusion port formed within the gap.

Abstract: A machine-driven automatic fever abatement system treats or prevents fever in hospital patients by administering medication, coolant, or other antipyretic means. The system includes a path, a flow device, a source of treatment substance, fever-characteristic sensors, and a controller. The path may be an open-ended structure, such as a tube, or a closed-ended structure such as a catheter with a sealed, internal path. The path is coupled to one or more bodily sites of the patient. The path is coupled to the flow device, which is itself attached to the source. The source contains a treatment substance such as medication (in the case of an open-ended path) or a coolant (in the case of a closed-ended path). One or more fever characteristic sensors are attached to various sites on the patient, for sensing temperature, metabolic rate, and/or other fever-affected physiological properties.

Abstract: A heat exchanger to remove heat from coolant in a closed circuit cooling catheter includes two heat exchange stages. Each stage includes a heat exchange element, such as a group of hollow fibers, and a TEC array juxtaposed with the heat exchange element to remove heat from the element. The elements are in fluid series with each other and are separated from each other by a thermal barrier. A thermal interface can be provided between each element and its TEC array. In one embodiment, the thermal interface is a gel layer. In another embodiment, the thermal interface is an ethylene glycol bath.

Abstract: A method for treating cardiac arrest includes defibrillating the patient and/or ventilating the patient and/or administering a cardiac arrest drug such as epinephrine to resuscitate the patient, and then cooling the patient using one or more cooling catheter positioned in the central venous system of the patient.

Abstract: An introducer sheath for a central venous catheter includes a sheath body and a temperature sensor mounted distally on the body. Either the catheter or sheath has a heat exchange region through which coolant is circulated to effect heat exchange with the body, with the coolant temperature being controlled in response to signals from the temperature sensor. Arterial dialysis heat exchange catheters and jugular bulb heat exchange catheters are also disclosed.

Abstract: A catheter is adapted to exchange heat with a body fluid, such as blood, flowing in a body conduit, such as a blood vessel. The catheter includes a shaft with a heat exchange region disposed at its distal end. This region may include at least one balloon which is adapted to receive a remotely cooled heat exchange fluid preferably flowing in a direction counter to that of the body fluid. Embodiments including multiple balloons enhance the surface area of contact, and the mixing of both the heat exchange and the body fluid. The catheter can be positioned to produce hypothermia in a selective area of the body without cooling the entire body system. It is of particular advantage in brain surgeries where stroke, trauma or cryogenic tumors can best be addressed under hypothermic conditions.

Abstract: A catheter is adapted to exchange heat with a body fluid, such as blood, flowing in a body conduit, such as a blood vessel. The catheter includes a shaft with a heat exchange region disposed at its distal end. This region may include at least one balloon which is adapted to receive a remotely cooled heat exchange fluid preferably flowing in a direction counter to that of the body fluid. Embodiments including multiple balloons enhance the surface area of contact, and the mixing of both the heat exchange and the body fluid. The catheter can be positioned to produce hypothermia in a selective area of the body without cooling the entire body system. It is of particular advantage in brain surgeries where stroke, trauma or cryogenic tumors can best be addressed under hypothermic conditions.

Abstract: A method for treating cardiac arrest includes defibrillating the patient and/or ventilating the patient and/or administering a cardiac arrest drug such as epinephrine to resuscitate the patient, and then cooling the patient's body temperature using one or more cooling catheters positioned in the central venous system of the patient and/or particularly cooling the patient's brain temperature using a catheter advanced into the aortic arch or into the carotid artery whereby a bolus of cold saline solution is introduced into the blood supplied to the brain to lower the brain temperature quickly, and further cooling or maintaining the brain temperature at a desired level by pumping coolant in a closed circuit formation between the catheter and the coolant source to remove heat from the blood supplied to the patient's brain.

Abstract: A method for treating cardiac arrest includes defibrillating the patient and/or ventilating the patient and/or administering a cardiac arrest drug such as epinephrine to resuscitate the patient, and then cooling the patient's body temperature using one or more cooling catheters positioned in the central venous system of the patient and/or particularly cooling the patient's brain temperature using a catheter advanced into the aortic arch or into the carotid artery whereby a bolus of cold saline solution is introduced into the blood supplied to the brain to lower the brain temperature quickly, and further cooling or maintaining the brain temperature at a desired level by pumping coolant in a closed circuit formation between the catheter and the coolant source to remove heat from the blood supplied to the patient's brain.

Abstract: A central venous catheter includes coolant supply and return lumens which communicate coolant to and from first and second heat exchange membranes arranged along the distal segment of the catheter. The coolant in the heat exchange membranes removes heat from the patient. Additional lumens are provided for conventional central venous catheter uses.

Abstract: A catheter is adapted to exchange heat with a body fluid, such as blood, flowing in a body conduit, such as a blood vessel. The catheter includes a shaft with a heat exchange region disposed at its distal end. This region may include hollow fibers which are adapted to receive a remotely cooled heat exchange fluid preferably flowing in a direction counter to that of the body fluid. The hollow fibers enhance the surface area of contact, as well as the mixing of both the heat exchange fluid and the body fluid. The catheter can be positioned to produce hypothermia in a selective area of the body or alternatively positioned to systemically cool the entire body system.

Abstract: A system for controlling patient temperature uses a central venous line catheter having axially spaced distal and proximal heat exchange balloons. The central venous line catheter is provided with one or more lumens for providing access to the central blood supply of the patient, and with additional lumens for communicating heat exchange fluid to the balloons. Heat exchange fluid temperature is controlled through a feed back loop in which patient temperature is sensed and used to control a temperature control unit comprising a heating device and/or a cooling device in heat exchange relationship with the heat exchange fluid. A tubing set transports the heat exchange fluid between the central venous line and the temperature control unit, with a pump serving to circulate the fluid in a closed fluid circuit in the system.

Abstract: A disposable esophageal probe having dual temperature elements is connected to a cooling catheter controller via a reusable interconnect line to provide redundancy in temperature feedback to the controller, namely, to provide both a control temperature feedback signal and an alarm temperature feedback signal to the controller.

Abstract: A catheter includes a sealed multi-lumen heat transfer extension designed to internally circulate a coolant, and thereby cool tissue or fluid surrounding the catheter. The heat transfer extension includes a tube having a distally positioned region that coils about the tube's longitudinal axis. The tube houses multiple lumens running longitudinally along the tube. These lumens include one or more supply lumens and one or more return lumens. A distal fluid exchange reservoir resides at the tube's tip, for the purpose of redirecting fluid from the supply lumen(s) to the return lumen(s). The heat transfer extension may include a shape memory structure causing the heat transfer extension to vary its shape according to temperature. Namely, the extension assumes a coiled shape under predetermined shape-active temperatures, and it assumes a non-coiled shape under other predetermined shape-relaxed temperatures.

Abstract: A group of multiple hollow fibers may be shaped to introduce angular divergence among the fibers, or to introduce a selected longitudinal oscillation into the fibers. In one shaping technique, the fibers are held in parallel while upper and lower crimping assemblies of parallel crimping bars are drawn together on opposite sides of the parallel fibers. When bars of the opposing assemblies draw sufficiently close, they sandwich the fibers in between them, causing each fiber to assume a shape that oscillates as the fiber repeatedly goes over and then under successive bars. Since the crimping bars are aligned at oblique angles to the fibers, the peaks and troughs of successive fibers are offset. While in this position, the fibers are heated and then cooled to permanently retain their shapes. A different shaping technique utilizes a lattice of crisscrossing tines defining multiple apertures. In this technique, the lattice and fibers are positioned so that each fiber passes through one of the apertures.