Patent ID: 7819817

Claim:
A temperature probe that inserts into an esophagus of a patient for protecting the esophagus in a medical procedure, comprising: a catheter; a balloon disposed on the catheter; a plurality of temperature sensors disposed on an outer skin of the balloon that monitor the temperature of the esophagus; a plurality of cables connected to the catheter at different points along a periphery and along a length of the catheter that moves the catheter to change a position of the esophagus in a body of the patient according to the monitored temperature; and a plurality of position sensors disposed on the outer skin of the balloon to determine a position of the temperature probe, wherein both the temperature sensors and the position sensors are attached to a mesh enclosing the outer skin of the balloon; wherein upon the balloon being supplied with air to an inflated position, the plurality of temperature sensors and the plurality of position sensors are attached to the mesh in an alternating arrangement in which each temperature sensor is positioned adjacent to one of the position sensors and each position sensor is positioned adjacent to one of the temperature sensors.