Patent ID: 8900170

Claim:
A system for controlling the temperature of a patient's head, the system comprising: a source of heat transfer fluid; and a cap, said cap having a flexible and foldable cap portion being of a size to fit over the head of the patient leaving the face of the patent exposed, said cap portion being configurable in a first orientation in which said cap portion is unfolded and allowed to lay flat, said cap portion being configurable in a second orientation in which said cap portion is arranged in a shape to fit over at least a portion of the head of a patient and to cover a majority of the surface of the head of the patient other than the face of the patient, and said cap portion having a fluid pathway with at least one inlet and at least one outlet, said at least one inlet coupled to said source of heat transfer fluid, said at least one outlet disposed upstream from said at least one inlet, and said fluid pathway extending between said at least one inlet and said at least one outlet, said fluid pathway located in a heat transfer relationship with at least a portion of the head of the patient when said cap portion is in said second orientation adjacent the head of the patient; and wherein said heat transfer fluid has a different temperature than the head of the patient, such that heat is transferred between the heat transfer fluid and the head of the patient.