THERMAL CONTRAST THERAPY SYSTEMS, DEVICES AND METHODS

摘要

The present disclosure relates to thermal contrast therapy systems, and automated thermal contrast therapy devices configured to interact with such systems and to perform customized thermal contrast therapy treatment sequences. Treatments may be prescribed by a treatment provider or selected by a user of a thermal contrast therapy device associated with such a system. In some embodiments, a thermal contrast therapy device may be configured to receive an indication from one or more temperature sensors and/or flow meters and to effect a desired measure of heat transfer during treatment, for example, by automatically adjusting the temperature and/or flow rate of the heat transfer fluid. In some embodiments, a thermal contrast therapy device may be configured to receive an indication of one or more physiological parameter values and to perform a customized thermal contrast therapy treatment sequence based, at least in part, on the one or more physiological parameter values.

主权项

1. A thermal contrast therapy device, the device comprising:
a pump configured to circulate fluid through a treatment cuff comprising an entrance and an exit in a sequence comprising a plurality of alternating cooling periods and heating periods, the treatment cuff configured to be applied to a patient; a motor operably coupled to the pump; the motor configured to vary the speed of the pump, the speed of the pump at least in part effecting the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff; a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of fluid having circulated through the treatment cuff exit; and a processor configured to:
(i) receive an input from an auxiliary device configured to measure one or more of: blood flow and blood oxygen level, the input indicative of a blood flow value and/or blood oxygen level value exhibited by the patient, and to modify a series of alternating heating periods and cooling periods for at least a portion of the sequence, each in respect of a specified measure of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient for said periods in the series, when the input indicates a deviation from a target value or range; and(ii) ascertain a measure of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient based at least in part on an input from the temperature sensor, and to cause the device to change the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff based at least in part on the measure of heat transfer and/or the input from the auxiliary device, the change effective at least in part to effect the specified measure of heat transfer for said periods in the series.