Selective organ cooling apparatus and method employing turbulence-inducing element with curved terminations

摘要

A selective organ heat transfer device with deep irregularities in a turbulence-inducing exterior surface. The device can have a plurality of elongated, articulated segments, each having a turbulence-inducing exterior surface. A flexible joint connects adjacent elongated, articulated segments. An inner lumen is disposed within the heat transfer segments. The inner lumen is capable of transporting a pressurized working fluid to a distal end of the heat transfer element. The irregularities may be grooves, and the grooves have a curved termination point which directs blood along a direction having a component perpendicular to the axis of the segments, thereby enhancing turbulence and heat transfer.