METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING STERILE SLUSH

摘要

Sterile surgical slush is maintained at substantially its freezing temperature to prevent both melting and formation of solid ice pieces. The slush is initially formed in a refrigeration mode wherein a basin (11) containing sterile fluid medium is cooled to well below the freezing medium temperature. Upon formation of the slush the system is placed in a maintain mode wherein the container temperature is kept at the freezing temperature of the medium. In the preferred embodiment the maintain mode is effected by electrically energizing one or more thermoelectric modules (20) and deenergizing a refrigeration system (11-16) in which the refrigerant fluid is passed through an evaporator (11) disposed in thermal energy transfer relation to the basin. In alternative embodiments the refrigeration system itself is controlled to keep the container temperature at the freezing point during the maintain mode.