| 摘要 |
A heat exchange catheter having an expandable insulating region thereon. The catheter has a heat exchange region and the insulating region disposed proximally thereto. The insulating region assumes a first size about a catheter shaft to facilitate insertion of the catheter into the body. Once the insulating region is inserted into the body, the insulating region is expanded a second size. The insulating region may be a balloon around the catheter shaft that is inflated to the second size to create a gap between the wall of the balloon and the catheter shaft. Heat flows through the catheter shaft to and from the heat exchange region, and thus heat loss or gain to and from the surrounding body is minimized in the insulating region. The exchange region may include a fluid circulation path comprised of lumens through the catheter shaft. A particularly useful application of the catheter is for regional cooling of blood flowing to a particular location, for example to the brain, or blood flowing to the heart to treat heart attack victims. The expandable insulating region is easy to insert through an incision or introducer sheath and expands to provide an efficient thermal barrier between the fluid circulating in the shaft and a surrounding body fluid or tissue. |
