Patent ID: 7326195
Filing Date: 2008-02-05
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A method of cooling a target tissue region inside a human body, the method comprising: providing non-oxygenated fluid cooled below normal human body temperature of about 37 degrees Celsius and oxygenated blood at a normal human body temperature of about 37 degrees Celsius to the tissue region in proportions to cool the tissue region and maintain, for an extended period of time greater than two minutes, the temperature of the tissue region within a target temperature range that is one to nine degrees Celsius below the normal body temperature, wherein the oxygenated blood is provided so that any continuous period of time during which the tissue region is deprived of oxygenated blood while the non-oxygenated fluid is being provided continues for less than two minutes, and further wherein the providing of the blood at the normal body temperature to the tissue region is performed using a catheter that occludes a vessel upstream from the tissue region and permits a selected amount of blood to flow through a lumen in the catheter and to the tissue region.