Patent ID: 7758572

Claim:
A medical system, comprising: an elongated shaft and an expandable balloon carried by the shaft, the balloon having a balloon wall region having an inner surface and an outer surface, the balloon wall region comprising an inner layer containing carbon nanotubes, a helical reinforcement layer disposed over the first layer and an outer layer disposed over the reinforcement layer comprising a mixture comprising a polymeric material and single wall carbon nanotube particles, at least some of which extend from the inner surface and/or from the outer surface, the mixture having a thermal conductivity of from about 70 percent to about 125 percent higher than the thermal conductivity of the polymeric material, and a hypotube having a proximal end and a distal end, the hypotube extending along the elongated shaft; one or more fibers each having a proximal end and a distal end, the one or more fibers extending longitudinally along an outer surface of the balloon, wherein the proximal ends of the one or more fibers are attached to the distal end of the hypotube; and the medical system being capable of cooling the balloon wall region of the balloon to less than about 37° C.