Claims
- 1. A catheter system to change the temperature of blood by heat transfer to or from a circulating working fluid, comprising:
an inlet lumen to introduce a circulating working fluid; and and an outlet lumen to extract a circulating working fluid, the outlet lumen having a shape that induces mixing in blood flowing past the outlet lumen or in the working fluid.
- 2. The catheter system of claim 1, wherein the inlet lumen and the outlet lumen are made of a flexible material.
- 3. The catheter system of claim 2, wherein the flexible material is a material capable of undergoing inflation.
- 4. The catheter system of claim 1, further comprising more than one outlet lumen.
- 5. The catheter system of claim 1, wherein the working fluid is saline.
- 6. The catheter system of claim 1, further comprising a working fluid supply including a pump, and wherein the pump circulates the working fluid.
- 7. A catheter system to rewarm a patient, comprising:
a working fluid supply configured to circulate a working fluid, wherein the working fluid supply is configured to produce a working fluid at a temperature of greater than about 37° C.; an inlet lumen to introduce the circulating working fluid; and an outlet lumen to extract the circulating working fluid, the outlet lumen having a shape that induces mixing in blood flowing past the outlet lumen or in the working fluid.
- 8. A catheter method of inducing a therapeutic state of hypothermia in a patient comprising:
inserting an inflatable heat transfer element, formed by at least an inlet lumen and an outlet lumen, into an artery or vein; inflating the inflatable heat transfer element by delivering a working fluid to the inflatable heat transfer element, the temperature of the working fluid lower than that of the blood; and passing the working fluid through a mixing inducing path formed by the outlet lumen, wherein an open path between the inlet lumen and the outlet lumen allows blood flow therethrough, thereby enhancing heat transfer between the working fluid and the blood.
- 9. A method for warning a body of a patient, comprising:
introducing a catheter having an inflatable heat transfer element, formed by at least an inlet lumen and an outlet lumen, the outlet lumen having a mixing inducing shape, into a blood vessel; circulating a working fluid through the heat transfer element, wherein the working fluid is removed from the heat transfer element by passing through the outlet lumen, the working fluid having a temperature greater than the temperature of the blood vessel; and such that heat is added to the blood to warm the body.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/095,753, filed on Mar. 11, 2002, entitled “Inflatable Catheter For Selective Organ Heating And Cooling And Method Of Using The Same” which is a divisional patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/757,124, filed on Jan. 8, 2001, entitled “Inflatable Catheter For Selective Organ Heating And Cooling And Method Of Using The Same”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,771, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/215,038 filed on Dec. 16, 1998, entitled “Inflatable Catheter For Selective Organ Heating And Cooling And Method Of Using The Same”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,312, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/103,342 filed on Jun. 23, 1998, entitled “Selective Organ Cooling Catheter And Method Of Using Same”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,068, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Serial No. 09/047,012 filed on 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 on Jan. 23, 1998, entitled “Selective Organ Hypothermia Method And Apparatus”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,019, all of which are incorporated herein.
Divisions (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09757124 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Child |
10095753 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09215038 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Child |
09757124 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10095753 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Child |
10714070 |
Nov 2003 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09103342 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Child |
09215038 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Parent |
09047012 |
Mar 1998 |
US |
Child |
09103342 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Parent |
09012287 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Child |
09047012 |
Mar 1998 |
US |