Stretchable textile heat-exchange jacket

A heat-exchange system including stretchable textile heat-exchange jacket which is adapted to be wrapped about a body member such as a knee and which functions therapeutically to heat or cool the member embraced thereby, the system comprising:

• A. a stretchable fabric sheet having two sides, said fabric sheet being fabricated of elastic fibers and being provided with releasable means to hold the sheet in place to form a jacket when it is wrapped about a body member, whereby when the body member is bent the sheet assumes the same form;
• B. a parallel array of flexible pipes secured to the stretchable sheet whereby the sheet may then be stretched in a direction normal to the direction of the pipes, said pipes being in heat exchange relation to the body member and following the form assumed by the sheet, each pipe having an inlet end and an outlet end extending beyond said sheet;
• and
• C. means to conduct a fluid through the pipes in the array at a temperature level at which heat transfer takes place between the jacket and the member to effect the desired therapeutic action, said means including a source of pressurized fluid, a mainfold distributor couple to the inlet ends of said pipes to supply fluid thereto in parallel paths, and a manifold collector coupled to the outlet ends of the pipes to collect the fluid therefrom, said distributor and said collector being external to said fabric sheet;
• said jacket being included in a closed loop system having said pressurized fluid source whose output is coupled to said distributor, the collector being coupled to the input of the source whereby the fluid recirculates in parallel paths through the pipes.