Claims
- 1. A method for treating fever in a patient's body intravascularly, comprising:
providing a catheter having a cooling element attached to a distal end thereof; inserting the catheter through the vascular system of a patient with a fever to place the cooling element in a vein that drains into the heart of a patient; circulating fluid through the cooling element; transferring heat from the blood in the vein to the cooling element; and thereby lowering the temperature of the patient.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling element is disposed in a vein selected from the group consisting of the superior vena cava, the inferior vena cava, the femoral, the iliac, the subclavian, the braichiocephalic, or combinations of these.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation patent application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/005,416 filed on Nov. 7, 2001, entitled “Fever Regulation Method and Apparatus”, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos: 60/246,620, filed Nov. 7, 2000, entitled “Fever Regulation Method And Apparatus”; 09/586,000, filed Jun. 2, 2000, entitled “Method For Determining The Effective Thermal Mass Of A Body Or Organ Using A Cooling Catheter”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,210; and 09/566,531, filed May 8, 2000, entitled “Method Of Making Selective Organ Cooling Catheter”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/103,342, filed on Jun. 23, 1998, entitled “Selective Organ Cooling Catheter And Method Of Using The Same”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,068, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/047,012, filed Mar. 24, 1998, entitled “Selective Organ Hypothermia Method And Apparatus”, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,963, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/012,287, filed Jan. 23, 1998, entitled “Selective Organ Hypothermia Method And Apparatus”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,019, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Continuation in Parts (2)
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