Heat transfer analysis of catheters used for localized tissue cooling to attenuate reperfusion injury.
Recent revascularization success for ischemic stroke patients using stentrievers has created a new opportunity for therapeutic hypothermia. By using short term localized tissue cooling interventional catheters can be used to reduce reperfusion injury and improve neurological outcomes. Using experimental testing and a well-established heat exchanger design approach, the ɛ-NTU method, this paper examines the cooling performance of commercially available catheters as function of four practical parameters: (1) infusion flow rate, (2) catheter location in the body, (3) catheter configuration and design, and (4) cooling approach. While saline batch cooling outperformed closed-loop autologous blood cooling at all equivalent flow rates in terms of lower delivered temperatures and cooling capacity, hemodilution, systemic and local, remains a concern. For clinicians and engineers this paper provides insights for the selection, design, and operation of commercially available catheters used for localized tissue cooling.
Rowan University, Mechanical Engineering Department, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ, United States; FocalCool, LLC, 107 Gilbreth Parkway, Suite103, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062, United States. Electronic address: merrill@rowan.edu.
Thomas L
TL
Merrill
FocalCool, LLC, 107 Gilbreth Parkway, Suite103, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062, United States. Electronic address: jakers@focalcool.com.
Jennifer E
JE
Mitchell
FocalCool, LLC, 107 Gilbreth Parkway, Suite103, Mullica Hill, NJ 08062, United States. Electronic address: deemerrill@focalcool.com.
Denise R
DR
Merrill
D057785:Catheters; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008954:Models, Biological; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013696:Temperature
Catheter; Heat exchanger analysis; Ischemic stroke; Reperfusion injury; Therapeutic hypothermia