Patent ID: 8771264

Claim:
A medical system for assessing contact between an expandable membrane and an area of target tissue, the medical system comprising: a catheter including: an elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end opposite the proximal end, and defining an injection lumen and an exhaust lumen; an expandable membrane defining a cooling chamber disposed at a point along the elongate body, the cooling chamber in fluid communication with the injection lumen and the exhaust lumen; and a temperature sensor located within the cooling chamber and proximate the exhaust lumen, the temperature sensor sensing a temperature within the cooling chamber; and a console including: a fluid supply; an exhaust path; and at least one control mechanism in communication with the temperature sensor, the at least one control mechanism programmable to qualify contact between the expandable membrane and the area of target tissue based at least in part on the temperature within the cooling chamber sensed by the temperature sensor.