Body Temperature Control Sheath With Heat Exchange Unit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling body temperature, such as extracorporeal heating and intravenous heat control systems, face limitations including insufficient heat transfer, risk of blood clotting, and the need for advanced surgery, while direct injection methods require significant equipment and skilled personnel, restricting treatment to hospitals and delaying care in emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A system involving a sheath with fastening and self-sealing means for inserting a heat exchange unit into body cavities like the pleural or abdominal cavity, allowing central heating without penetrating blood vessels, using a closed liquid loop with a heat transfer system that minimizes fluid use and avoids depressurization, enabling rapid and effective temperature adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If extracorporeal heating is used to rapidly warm the patient, then heat transfer speed is improved, but blood is drawn from the patient which may induce strain and risk of blood clotting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a heat exchange liquid as an intermediary substance that circulates through the catheter system to transfer heat between the heating element and the blood, eliminating direct contact between the external heater and the patient's blood while maintaining efficient heat transfer
2Object-affected harmful factors
If intravenous heat control system with catheter is used to control patient temperature, then blood drawing strain is reduced, but heat transfer efficiency is insufficient compared to extracorporeal heating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a hydraulic system where a heat exchange liquid circulates through the catheter under pressure, allowing efficient heat transfer from an external heating element through the liquid medium to the blood without requiring blood to be drawn out of the patient
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchange liquid serves as a thermal intermediary that transfers heat from the external source to the blood within the vein, achieving efficient heat transfer without direct contact between the heater and blood
3Speed
If direct injection of heated liquid into body cavities is used for central heating, then heat transfer is improved, but significant equipment and skilled personnel are required restricting treatment to hospitals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies heating locally at the insertion site on the patient's body surface, allowing the heat to penetrate and warm the underlying tissues and blood vessels directly, eliminating the need for complex internal injection systems while achieving rapid local heating
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the heating function from the internal cavity space and relocates it to the external body surface, simplifying the equipment requirements while maintaining effective heat transfer to the target tissues
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for a more benign and rapid temperature adjustment with reduced trauma and equipment needs, enabling treatment outside hospitals and during transportation, using minimal saline and avoiding complications like thrombosis and lung depressurization.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchange unit (220) for absorbing heat from the body or radiating heat to the body
Implementation Method 2
a treatment controller adapted to heat or cool a liquid passing through it
Implementation Method 3
a treatment controller adapted to heat or cool a liquid passing through it
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention discloses an apparatus for adjusting the temperature of a body comprising a sheath for providing a channel from outside said body to a cavity inside said body, where said sheath comprises a guiding section being angular to said channel. The apparatus further comprises a heat exchange unit comprising an inlet and an outlet, an outer contour and an inner fluid channel, adapted for inserting through said channel of said sheath.