INNERCOOL THERAPIES, INC. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20090270955 | THERAPEUTIC HEATING AND COOLING VIA TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT OF A COLON-INSERTED DUAL BALLOON - Methods and apparatus are provided for heating or cooling a patient's whole body or a selected portion of a patient's body. In one embodiment, the method begins by inserting a catheter having a dual balloon system into the large intestine of a patient. A heated or chilled liquid is conducted through a supply tube of the catheter and into the inner balloon. The liquid is evacuated from the inner balloon through a return lumen of the catheter. The outer balloon conducts heat transfer between the patient's tissues and the inner balloon, and further provides a degree of safety against rupture of the inner balloon. | 10-29-2009 |
20090099518 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INDUCING THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA IN A PRE-HOSPITAL, FIELD, OR AMBULANCE SETTING - Systems and methods are provided for inducing a therapeutic state of hypothermia in a patient. Cold biocompatible liquid is infused into a patient at a defined temperature and pressure and at a fairly rapid rate to quickly induce hypothermia. In one system, cold liquid is provided from a flowing source. In another, cold liquid is forced out of a refrigerated bag, the pressure on the bag arising from air pressure on the bag, an infusor cuff, or any other technique which may apply such pressure. The cold liquid may be cooled in advance of the infusion or via a cold plate which forms a portion of the system. | 04-16-2009 |
20080300585 | Method and device for performing cooling-or cryo-therapies for, e.g., angioplasty with reduced restenosis or pulmonary vein cell necrosis to inhibit atrial fibrillation - The present invention provides an enhanced method and device to inhibit or reduce the rate of restenosis following angioplasty or stent placement. The invention involves placing a balloon tipped catheter 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 from a balloon angioplasty. A fluid such as a perfluorocarbon may be flowed into the balloon to freeze the tissue adjacent the balloon, this cooling being associated with reduction of restenosis. The catheter may also be used to reduce atrial fibrillation by inserting and inflating the balloon such that an exterior surface of the balloon is in contact with at least a partial circumference of the portion of the pulmonary vein adjacent the left atrium. | 12-04-2008 |
20080228246 | System and method for inducing hypothermia with control and determination of catheter pressure - 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, methods and devices are provided for control and determination of the pressure within the heat transfer element. | 09-18-2008 |
20080221651 | Medical procedure - 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. According to a further aspect of the invention, a hypothermic medical procedure is provided while a patient is in a conscious or semiconscious state, comprising (a) administering a beta-blocking drug to the patient; (b) delivering a heat transfer element to a blood vessel of the patient; and (c) cooling a region of the patient or the body of the patient to less than 35° C. using the heat transfer element. | 09-11-2008 |
20080200970 | Patient temperature regulation method and apparatus - 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. | 08-21-2008 |