Integrated cardioplegia delivery system
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsEdward S. Wells, Spencer K. Ford, Jack E. Werner, Erin J. Lindsay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cardioplegia system in which cardioplegia medication or a mixture of arterial blood and medication is delivered to the heart of a patient undergoing open heart surgery. A cooling system incorporates flat coils vertically disposed in upright tanks in which the level of cooling liquid is controlled and thus the percentage area of the coil which is immersed. This permits the control of the cooling while isolating the blood or medication from the cooling system.
Claims5
In a cardioplegia system in which cardioplegia medication or a mixture of arterial blood and medication is delivered to the heart of a patient during open heart surgery, and including a cooling medium and apparatus for cooling the cardioplegic fluid flowing to the heart, an improvement in a cooling system utilizing a source of ice water or the like which comprises:
- (a) a relatively flat heat exchange unit formed of one or more coaxial coils of multiple convolutions of tubing disposed around an axis having inlet and outlet ends at one general area of the periphery of said coils, for passing the cardioplegic fluid to be cooled therethrough,
- (b) a first relatively flat vertical chamber to receive said unit through an opening in one side thereof, said chamber having a bottom inlet for said cooling medium, an overflow for said cooling medium adjacent the top thereof, and one or more openings in one wall of said chamber disposed to control both the overflow level of cooling medium from said chamber and the area of said coils immersed in the cooling medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.