Methods and devices for cooling spinal tissue

An apparatus for cooling a spinal canal, comprising:

• a biocompatible bone screw having proximal and distal ends and a chamber therein, the bone screw being configured for placement within a vertebra;
• a delivery conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber, the delivery conduit being configured to supply a cooling medium to the chamber;
• an exhaust conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber;
• a coolant source having a cooling medium therein, the coolant source being configured to provide the cooling medium to the delivery conduit;
• and
• a cannulated tunnel extending through an entire length of the bone screw, the cannulated tunnel being in fluid isolation relative to the chamber.

An apparatus for cooling a spinal canal, comprising:

• a biocompatible bone screw having proximal and distal ends and a chamber therein, the bone screw being configured for placement within a vertebra;
• a delivery conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber, the delivery conduit being configured to supply a cooling medium to the chamber;
• an exhaust conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber;
• and
• a coolant source having a cooling medium therein, the coolant source being configured to provide the cooling medium to the delivery conduit;
• wherein the bone screw has a rod receiving head and the apparatus further comprises a spinal rod configured to be selectively coupled to the rod receiving head;
• wherein the spinal rod includes an aperture through which the delivery conduit and the exhaust conduit can be routed from the bone screw to a skin surface of a patient when the spinal rod and the bone screw are implanted in a spine of the patient.

An apparatus for cooling a spinal canal, comprising:

• a biocompatible bone screw having proximal and distal ends and a chamber therein, the bone screw being configured for placement within a vertebra;
• a delivery conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber, the delivery conduit being configured to supply a cooling medium to the chamber;
• an exhaust conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber;
• and
• a coolant source having a cooling medium therein, the coolant source being configured to provide the cooling medium to the delivery conduit;
• wherein the chamber is formed in a removable insert, the insert being selectively positionable within an interior of the bone screw.

An apparatus for cooling a spinal canal, comprising:

• a biocompatible bone screw having proximal and distal ends and a chamber therein, the bone screw being configured for placement within a vertebra;
• a delivery conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber, the delivery conduit being configured to supply a cooling medium to the chamber;
• an exhaust conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber;
• a coolant source having a cooling medium therein, the coolant source being configured to provide the cooling medium to the delivery conduit;
• and
• a coupling balloon having at least an inflated configuration in which the balloon forms an interference fit to couple the delivery conduit and the exhaust conduit to the bone screw and a deflated configuration in which the delivery conduit and the exhaust conduit are separable from the bone screw.

An apparatus for cooling a spinal canal, comprising:

• a biocompatible bone screw having proximal and distal ends and a chamber therein, the bone screw being configured for placement within a vertebra;
• a delivery conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber, the delivery conduit being configured to supply a cooling medium to the chamber;
• an exhaust conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber;
• a coolant source having a cooling medium therein, the coolant source being configured to provide the cooling medium to the delivery conduit;
• and
• a Peltier device disposed within the chamber and a controller configured to adjust an amount of current supplied to the Peltier device.

An apparatus for cooling a spinal canal, comprising:

• a biocompatible bone screw having proximal and distal ends and a chamber therein, the bone screw being configured for placement within a vertebra;
• a delivery conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber, the delivery conduit being configured to supply a cooling medium to the chamber;
• an exhaust conduit coupled to the bone screw and in fluid communication with the chamber;
• a coolant source having a cooling medium therein, the coolant source being configured to provide the cooling medium to the delivery conduit;
• and
• at least one sensor configured to generate an output indicative of at least one of a physiological condition and a temperature of the bone screw, and a controller configured to adjust at least one of a rate at which a cooling medium is provided to the delivery conduit and a temperature of the cooling medium based on the output of the sensor.