A thermal control unit for controlling a patient's temperature includes a fluid outlet for delivering temperature-controlled fluid to a patient, a pump, a heat exchanger, and a controller that automatically pauses thermal treatment of the patient prior the patient reaching a target temperature. During the pause, the controller assesses a reaction of the patient and changes a temperature of the fluid only inside the thermal control unit if the patient is likely to reach the target temperature without further thermal treatment. However, if the patient is unlikely to reach the target temperature without further thermal treatment, the controller restarts the thermal treatment. The controller may pause thermal treatment again prior to reaching the target temperature and assess the patient's reaction. In some embodiments, the controller may selectively include and exclude a fluid reservoir in a circulation channel within the thermal control unit.

The present invention relates to methods for use in the selective disruption of lipid-rich cells by controlled cooling. The present invention further relates to a device for use in carrying out the methods for selective disruption of lipid-rich cells by controlled cooling.

A targeted temperature management (TTM) system is disclosed that includes a TTM module to provide a TTM fluid, a fluid delivery line (FDL) including a FDL hub, a fluid delivery lumen and a fluid return lumen, and a pad to facilitate thermal energy transfer between the TTM fluid and a patient, the pad including a fluid delivery conduit extending away from the pad portion and including a first leak prevention valve configured to enable the TTM fluid to flow in a distal direction while preventing flow in a proximal direction, and a fluid return conduit extending away from the pad portion, the fluid return conduit including (i) a return conduit connector at a proximal end thereof, and (ii) a second leak prevention valve configured to enable the TTM fluid to flow in the proximal direction while preventing flow in the distal direction.

A disposable dressing forms a compartment around and above a wound site and a volatile antimicrobial compound is allowed to sublimate/evaporate into the compartment. A heating element is included in the dressing, with heat stimulating wound healing and simultaneously accelerating sublimation/evaporation of the antimicrobial compound.

A system and method of monitoring, controlling and/or detecting events during the removal of heat from subcutaneous lipid-rich tissue is described. In some examples, the system detects an increase in temperature at a treatment device in contact with the skin of a subject, determines that the increase in temperature is related to a treatment event, and performs an action based on the determination. In some examples, the system shuts off the treatment device, alerts an operator, or reduces the cooling in response to a determined treatment event.

Methods are provided herein for affecting a region of a subject's body, comprising exposing the region to a cooling element under conditions effective to cool subcutaneous adipose tissue in said region; and increasing the blood flow rate to the cooled tissue by exposing the tissue to an energy source. Methods are also provided for treating subcutaneous adipose tissue in a region of a subject's body, comprising exposing said region to a cooling element under conditions effective to cool said tissue; and exposing the tissue to an energy source to increase the blood flow rate to the cooled tissue, thereby stimulating reperfusion in, and/or causing an ischemia-reperfusion injury to, the cooled tissue.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a warming device that includes a clinical garment and a first pneumatic convective device. The clinical garment includes an inner surface for facing the patient and having an inner surface area. The clinical garment has a hemline and forms a longitudinal axis. The first pneumatic convective device can have an air-permeable layer having a pneumatic surface area, the pneumatic surface area is at least 25% of the inner surface area in a deployed state. The warming device can include a first inlet for admitting a stream of pressurized, warmed air into the first pneumatic convective device. The second end of the first pneumatic convective device extends past the hemline when in the deployed state, and, when the first pneumatic convective device is in a folded state, the second end extends no greater than 3 inches past the hemline.

The present disclosure generally relates to intelligent garments that provide thermal regulation in a variety of environments. The garments may include different layers such as a hydrophobic layer in direct contact with a wearer's skin surface and saturated with an aqueous mixture, a spacer layer, a reflective layer, and an outer hydrophobic layer. The layers of the garment may work together to reduce the metabolic expenditure of the wearer in extreme environmental conditions or during demanding physical activity. A variety of sensors may be displaced throughout the garments so as to enable the collection of data associated with wearers as well as environmental conditions. Wearers may control the thermal balance and other properties of the garments as desired.

One variation of a method for fabricating a dermal heatsink includes: fabricating a substrate defining an interior surface, an exterior surface opposite the interior surface, and an open network of pores extending between the interior surface and the exterior surface; activating surfaces of the substrate and walls of the open network of pores; applying a coating over the substrate to form a heatsink, the coating comprising a porous, hydrophilic material and defining a void network; removing an excess of the coating from the substrate to clear blockages within the open network of pores by the coating; hydrating the heatsink during a curing period; heating the heatsink during the curing period to increase porosity of the coating applied over surfaces of the substrate; and rinsing the heatsink with an acid to decarbonate the coating along walls of the open network of pores in the substrate.

A thermal control unit for controlling a patient's temperature includes a fluid outlet for delivering temperature-controlled fluid to a patient, a pump, a heat exchanger, and a controller that automatically pauses thermal treatment of the patient prior the patient reaching a target temperature. During the pause, the controller assesses a reaction of the patient and changes a temperature of the fluid only inside the thermal control unit if the patient is likely to reach the target temperature without further thermal treatment. However, if the patient is unlikely to reach the target temperature without further thermal treatment, the controller restarts the thermal treatment. The controller may pause thermal treatment again prior to reaching the target temperature and assess the patient's reaction. In some embodiments, the controller may selectively include and exclude a fluid reservoir in a circulation channel within the thermal control unit.