Claims
- 1. A guidable catheter for heating or cooling a surrounding fluid in a vessel in the vasculature of a patient, comprising:
a heat transfer element, the heat transfer element having at least one helical exterior surface irregularity shaped and arranged to create mixing in a surrounding fluid in a vessel; a supply catheter having a portion disposed within the heat transfer element to deliver a working fluid to an interior of the heat transfer element; a return catheter to return a working fluid from the interior of the heat transfer element; a guidewire tube adjacent one of the supply catheter or the return catheter and running substantially parallel to the axis of the guidable catheter to receive a guidewire; a guidewire disposed within the guidewire tube, the guidewire having a distal tip; a temperature-monitoring device disposed substantially adjacent the distal tip of the guidewire, the temperature-monitoring device having an output indicative of a sensed temperature; and a temperature-regulated source of working fluid having an inlet and an outlet, the supply catheter in pressure communication with the outlet and the return catheter in pressure communication with the inlet, the source of working fluid having a heat exchange device to change the temperature of the fluid therein upon input of a signal output from the temperature monitoring device.
- 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer element has coupled thereto at least one eyelet configured to receive the guidewire threaded therethrough.
- 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the return catheter is coaxial with the supply catheter, and the return catheter has a larger radius than the supply catheter.
- 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the return catheter is coaxial with the supply catheter, and the return catheter has a smaller radius than the supply catheter.
- 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the temperature-monitoring device is a thermocouple.
- 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the temperature-monitoring device is a thermistor.
- 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the thermistor has a negative temperature coefficient of resistance.
- 8. The device of claim 6, wherein the thermistor has a working element made of ceramic.
- 9. The device of claim 6, wherein the thermistor is encapsulated in glass.
- 10. A method for selectively controlling the temperature of a selected volume of blood in a patient, comprising:
introducing a guidewire into a blood vessel in a selected volume of blood in a patient; introducing a catheter assembly into the blood vessel in a selected volume of blood in a patient by inserting the guidewire into a guidewire tube in the catheter assembly; delivering a working fluid from a temperature-controlled source of working fluid through a supply catheter in the catheter assembly and returning the working fluid through a return catheter in the catheter assembly; creating mixing around a plurality of surface irregularities on the heat transfer element, thereby creating mixing throughout a free stream of blood flow in the feeding vessel; transferring heat between a heat transfer element forming a distal end of the catheter assembly and the volume of blood in the feeding vessel; monitoring the temperature of the volume of blood in the vessel by measuring the temperature with a temperature-monitoring device disposed at or near the distal tip of the guidewire; and controlling the temperature of the working fluid in the temperature-controlled source of working fluid based on the monitored temperature of the volume of blood.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein:
the surface irregularities on the heat transfer element comprise a plurality of segments of helical ridges and grooves having alternating directions of helical rotation; and mixing is created by establishing repetitively alternating directions of helical blood flow with the alternating helical rotations of the ridges and grooves.
- 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising inserting the guidewire through at least one eyelet on the heat transfer element.
- 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising feeding back a signal indicative of the monitored temperature from the temperature monitoring device to the source of working fluid to alter the temperature of the working fluid.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/262,805, filed on Mar. 4, 1999, and entitled “Selective Organ Cooling Catheter with Guidewire Apparatus and Temperature-Monitoring Device” which is a continuation-in-part patent application of U.S. patent applications: Ser. No. 09/103,342, filed on Jun. 23, 1998, and entitled “Selective Organ Cooling Catheter and Method of Using the Same”; Ser. No. 09/052,545, filed on Mar. 31, 1998, and entitled “Circulating Fluid Hypothermia Method and Apparatus”; Ser. No. 09/047,012, filed on Mar. 24, 1998, and entitled “Improved Selective Organ Hypothermia Method and Apparatus”; Ser. No. 09/215,038, filed on Dec. 16, 1998, and entitled “An Inflatable Catheter for Selective Organ Heating and Cooling and Method of Using the Same”; Ser. No. 09/215,039, filed on Dec. 16, 1998, and entitled “Method for Low Temperature Thrombolysis and Low Temperature Thrombolytic Agent with Selective Organ Control”; Ser. No. 09/232,177, filed on Jan. 15, 1999, and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Location and Temperature Specific Drug Action such as Thrombolysis”; and Ser. No. 09/246,788, filed on Feb. 9, 1999, and entitled “Triple Lumen Catheter for Embedding for Method and Device for Applications of Selective Organ Cooling”, the entirety of each being incorporated by reference herein.
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