Patent ID: 6500200
Filing Date: 2002-12-31
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
A heat exchanger for use in controlling a subject's body temperature during a medical procedure, comprising:a) a flexible garment adapted for enveloping portions of the subject's body surface, the garment having dedicated sections for enveloping different body parts which comprise a torso section for enveloping substantial portions of the subject's torso and one or more of the individual's extremities; b) a fastening arrangement for retaining each section in an enveloping state; c) fluid-tight space defined between an internal, body-facing layer of the garment and an external layer and between fluid tight edges of the garment, said internal layer and said external layer each containing two faces, the faces of both layers lining said space being attached to one another along lines defining a flow path between at least one fluid inlet and at least one fluid outlet to permit flow of fluid from the at least one inlet to the at least one outlet throughout essentially the entire garment for effective heat transfer to or from all parts of the garment, said internal layer and said external layer being point welded to one another at a plurality of locations throughout the garment and comprise each an inner sub-layer having a thickness of about 20 to about 50 &mgr;m and an outer sub-layer comprised of non-woven material, all of the sub-layers are made of heat-weldable material, of which the two inner layers are fluid impermeable and define said fluid-tight space between them and the two outer layers are reinforcement, tear resistant layers which reinforce the structure of the garment to allow an internal fluid pressure of up to 3 atm without rupturing, each of said four layers being point welded to one another at radial locations throughout the garment.