Patent ID: 6251130
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
A selective organ heat transfer device and guide catheter assembly, comprising:a guide catheter capable of insertion to a selected feeding artery in the vascular system of a patient, the guide catheter having a soft tip and an interior retaining flange at a distal end;a flexible supply tube capable of insertion in the guide catheter;a heat transfer element comprising a plurality of heat transfer segments with a flexible joint connecting each of said heat transfer segments to adjacent heat transfer segments, said heat transfer element attached to a distal end of the supply tube, the heat transfer element having a flange at a distal end, the flange capable of engagement with the retaining flange to prevent the heat transfer element from disengaging with the guide catheter; anda plurality of exterior surface irregularities on the heat transfer element, the surface irregularities being shaped and arranged to create turbulence in surrounding fluid, the surface irregularities having a depth at least equal to the boundary layer thickness of flow in the feeding artery.