Biocompatibles UK Limited

University of Minnesota

Boston Scientific Corporation

Harishankar Natesan

Graig Leonard Kveen

Satish Ramadhyani

Sean D Lubner

John Bischof

Christopher E Dames

Jeunghwan Choi

A cryoablation tool may include a catheter. The catheter may have a shaft having: a proximal end, a distal end, a shaft wall extending between the proximal end and the distal end, the shaft wall having an outer surface and an inner surface and a vacuum gap defined therebetween that forms a vacuum chamber, the inner surface of the shaft wall being gas permeable, a shaft lumen bounded by the inner surface of the shaft wall, the shaft lumen for carrying a cryogen gas, and the vacuum chamber having a proximal opening connectable to a vacuum source, the proximal opening establishing vacuum communication between the vacuum chamber and the vacuum source.

Flexible cryoprobe

A cryoablation tool has a primary fluid circuit for cryogenically cooling or heating tissue surrounding the distal portion of the cryoablation tool. The primary fluid circuit has a primary-primary heat exchanger facilitating recuperative heat exchange between a high pressure stream of a primary fluid and a low pressure stream of the primary fluid. The cryoablation tool has a secondary fluid circuit having a secondary-secondary heat exchanger for permitting recuperative heat exchange between a high pressure stream of a secondary fluid and a low pressure stream of the secondary fluid. The secondary fluid circuit also has a primary-secondary heat exchanger permitting heat exchange between the high pressure stream of the primary fluid and the low pressure stream of the secondary fluid.

Dual stage cryocooler

A sensing system uses three-omega sensing to determine a spatial profile of thermal property within a sample. The sensing system electrically powers a lossy electrical conductor at different driving frequencies. The different driving frequencies produce different penetration depths within the sample. The sensing system takes multiple measurements of thermal property at the different driving frequencies. Each measurement is associated with a different penetration depth, and therefore is averaged over a differently-sized volume within the sample. The sensing system performs a fit on the multiple measurements of material thermal property versus material geometry. If one of thermal property or geometry is known beforehand, then the fit can determine the other. The lossy electrical conductor can be formed on a polymeric flexible membrane, on a probe that can be placed at a suitable location in a patient's body, and/or directly onto a heating or cooling element.

System and method for determining a spatial thermal property profile of a sample

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Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Harishankar Natesan