Heat exchanges system for patient temperature control with easy loading high performance peristaltic pump

A method, comprising:

• providing a peristaltic pump rotor that has a non-round periphery;
• providing respective rollers on the peristaltic pump rotor adjacent the periphery;
• rotating the peristaltic pump rotor relative to a raceway to urge fluid through a tube disposed between the raceway and the rotor;
• and
• operating an actuator coupled to a mount of the rotor to move the mount to thereby move the rotor between a pump position and a tube load position, wherein the actuator is configured to move the rotor toward the raceway to establish the pump position and away from the raceway to establish the tube load position.

A pump assembly, comprising:

• a raceway;
• a rotor spaced from the raceway, wherein the rotor is rotatable relative to the raceway and is also translationally mounted relative to the raceway between a pump position, wherein the rotor is spaced from the raceway a first distance, and a tube load position, wherein the rotor is spaced from the raceway a second distance greater than the first distance;
• a motor configured to rotate the rotor to urge fluid through a tube disposed between the raceway and the rotor;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the rotor, the actuator configured to pivot the rotor between the pump position and the tube load position, wherein the rotor defines a plane parallel to the raceway when the rotor is in the pump position, the plane defined by the rotor being obliquely angled relative to the raceway when the rotor is in the tube load position in that a first side of the rotor is elevated higher than a second end of the rotor.