Abstract: A device and method for providing body cooling. The cooling device applies cooling to blood flowing in a vena cavae that is then distributed throughout the body. The cooling can be assisted by use of thermoregulatory drugs or warming devices to prevent shivering and vasoconstriction.

Abstract: An endovascular heat transfer device which can have a smooth exterior surface, or a surface with ridges and grooves. The device can have a plurality of elongated, articulated segments, with each having such a surface. A flexible joint connects adjacent elongated, articulated segments. The flexible joints can be bellows or flexible tubes. An inner lumen is disposed within the heat transfer segments. The inner lumen is capable of transporting a pressurized working fluid to a distal end of the heat transfer element.

Abstract: Systems and methods for liposuction are disclosed that use a lipid-emulsifying fluid to produce fluid jet disruption and Venturi pumping of fat tissue. The device includes a flexible or rigid probe with an inlet lumen and an outlet lumen. The inlet lumen is in fluid communication with a pump capable of producing high pressures, e.g., 250-3500 psi. The pump is in fluid communication with a volume of a liquid such as sterile saline that may or may not contain a fat emulsifier. At the end of the inlet lumen is a conical constriction or a port that accelerates the emulsification fluid to high velocities. The high velocity jet stream creates a low pressure area that draws the fat tissue into proximity with the jet stream. The jet stream directly and through turbulent vortices breaks up the fat cells. The lipid of the fat cells is subsequently emulsified by the emulsification fluid.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing hypothermia of a selected organ without significant effect on surrounding organs or other tissues. A flexible catheter is inserted through the vascular system of a patient to place the distal tip of the catheter in an artery feeding the selected organ. A compressed refrigerant is pumped through the catheter to an expansion element near the distal tip of the catheter, where the refrigerant vaporizes and expands to cool a flexible heat transfer element in the distal tip of the catheter. The heat transfer element cools the blood flowing through the artery, to cool the selected organ, distal to the tip of the catheter.

Abstract: An enhanced method and device are provided to treat atrial fibrillation or inhibit or reduce restenosis following angioplasty or stent placement. A balloon-tipped catheter is disposed in the area treated or opened through balloon angioplasty immediately following angioplasty. The balloon, which can have a dual balloon structure, may be delivered through a guiding catheter and over a guidewire already in place. A fluid such as a perfluorocarbon flows into the balloon to freeze the tissue adjacent the balloon, this cooling being associated with reduction of restenosis. A similar catheter may be used to reduce atrial fibrillation by inserting and inflating the balloon such that an exterior surface of the balloon contacts at least a partial circumference of the portion of the pulmonary vein adjacent the left atrium. In another embodiment, blood perfusion is performed simultaneously.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a system for temperature control of the human body. The system includes an indwelling catheter with a tip-mounted heat transfer element. The catheter is fluidically coupled to a console that provides a heated or cooled heat transfer working fluid to exchange heat with the heat transfer element, thereby heating or cooling blood. The heated or cooled blood then heats or cools the patient's body or a selected portion thereof. In particular, strategies for providing cooling while reducing shivering are disclosed, including administration of various drugs and drug combinations.

Abstract: An apparatus for treating heart failure, including a conduit positioned in a hole in the atrial septum of the heart, to allow flow from the left atrium into the right atrium. The conduit is fitted with one or more emboli barriers or one-way valve members, to prevent thrombi or emboli from crossing into the left side circulation.

Abstract: The use of an intravascular cooling element to induce hypothermia in connection with a medical procedure. According to a first aspect of the present, invention, a coronary bypass procedure is conducted in which a patient's blood is oxygenated with the patient's lungs and in which blood is circulated using the patient's heart or using an intracorporeal pump. The procedure preferably comprises: (a) positioning a heat transfer element in a blood vessel of a patient; (b) cooling the body of the patient to less than 35° C., more preferably 32±2° C., using the heat transfer element; and (c) forming a fluid communicating graft between an arterial blood supply and the coronary artery. The body of the patient is preferably heated to about 37° C. using the heat transfer element subsequent to the step of forming the fluid communicating graft.

Abstract: A method for the treatment of obesity or other disorders by electrical activation or inhibition of nerves is disclosed. This activation or inhibition can be accomplished by stimulating a nerve using an electrode. Dynamic stimulation through ramped cycling of electrical stimulation, stimulation frequency alteration, and/or duty cycle variance can produce therapeutic benefits.