Cryodynamics, LLC

Adagio Medical, Inc.

Endocare, Inc.

The United States of America As Represented by the United States

Cryomechanics, LLC

Robert V Duncan

Peter John Littrup

Alexei V Babkin

Sergey T Boldarev

Pramod Kerkar

William Nydam

Anatoly I Efremov

Sergei Boldarov

William J Nydam

A method of cooling a material including the steps of (i) providing a cryotherapy instrument, (ii) positioning a portion of the cryotherapy instrument adjacent the material to be cooled, and (iii) circulating a cryogenic fluid through the cryotherapy instrument under physical conditions near a critical point of a liquid-vapor system for the cryogenic fluid. The critical point defines a point in a phase diagram of the liquid-vapor system where molar volumes are substantially equivalent for liquid and gas, whereby vapor lock associated with cooling of the cryotherapy instrument is avoided.

Cryotherapy probe

A device for freezing body tissue, the device having a main driving system capable of generating nitrogen under physical conditions near a critical point of a liquid-vapor system for the nitrogen. The critical point defines a point in a phase diagram of the liquid-vapor system where molar volumes are substantially equivalent for liquid and gas and the physical conditions include a pressure of about 33.5 atm.

A flexible multi-tubular cryoprobe, including a housing for receiving an inlet flow of near critical cryogenic fluid from a fluid source and for discharging an outlet flow of the cryogenic fluid. A plurality of fluid transfer tubes are securely attached to the housing. This includes a set of inlet fluid transfer tubes for receiving the inlet flow from the housing; and, a set of outlet fluid transfer tubes for discharging the outlet flow to the housing. Each of the fluid transfer tubes is formed of material that maintains flexibility in a full range of temperatures from &#x2212;200&#xb0; C. to ambient temperature. Each fluid transfer tube has an inside diameter in a range of between about 0.10 mm and 1.0 mm and a wall thickness in a range of between about 0.01 mm and 0.30 mm. An end cap is positioned at the ends of the plurality of fluid transfer tubes to provide fluid transfer from the inlet fluid transfer tubes to the outlet fluid transfer tubes.

Flexible multi-tubular cryoprobe

A gas-based cryotherapy probe is provided with a shaft having a closed distal end adapted for insertion into a body. A supply conduit is disposed longitudinally within the shaft for flowing gas towards the distal end, and a return conduit is disposed longitudinally within the shaft for flowing gas from the distal end. The gas is maintained at a lower pressure within the return conduit than in the supply conduit. A heat exchanger is disposed within the shaft in thermal communication with the supply conduit and return conduit to exchange heat from gas in the supply conduit to gas in the return conduit. A vacuum jacket is adapted to provide thermal isolation of the heat exchanger from the shaft.

Methods and systems are provided for cooling an object with a cryogen having a critical point defined by a critical-point pressure and a critical-point temperature. A pressure of the cryogen is raised above a pressure value determined to provide the cryogen at a reduced molar volume that prevents vapor lock. Thereafter, the cryogen is placed in thermal communication with the object to increase a temperature of the cryogen along a thermodynamic path that maintains the pressure greater than the critical-point pressure for a duration that the cryogen and object are in thermal communication.

Methods and systems for cryogenic cooling

The methods and systems using supercritical fluids for cooling of objects with high thermal emissions are disclosed. The unique thermodynamic properties of supercritical fluids combined with microchannel cooling technology allow effective absorption of the waste heat and exclude 'vapor lock', 'boiling crisis', and other deficiencies of conventional two-phase liquid cooling.

Cooling methods and systems using supercritical fluids

A cryotherapy system is provided with multiple cryoprobes, each of which has a shaft with a closed distal end adapted for insertion into a body and conduits for flowing a cryogenic fluid through the shaft to reduce a temperature of the distal end. A source is provided for the cryogenic fluid, and flow-control metering valves are provided in fluid communication with the conduits and source of the cryogenic fluid. A compressor is provided in fluid communication with the conduits of the cryoprobes to define a self-contained fluid system. The flow-control metering valves and the compressor are controlled by a computer processor to provide the desired flows of the cryogenic fluid through the conduits of the self-contained fluid system.

Cryotherapy system

The present invention is a quantitative method for measuring the total heat flux, and of deriving the total power dissipation, of a heat-fluxing object which includes the steps of placing an electrical noise-emitting heat-fluxing object in a liquid helium bath and measuring the superfluid transition temperature of the bath. The temperature of the liquid helium bath is thereafter reduced until some measurable parameter, such as the electrical noise, exhibited by the heat-fluxing object or a temperature-dependent resistive thin film in intimate contact with the heat-fluxing object, becomes greatly reduced. The temperature of the liquid helum bath is measured at this point. The difference between the superfluid transition temperature of the liquid helium bath surrounding the heat-fluxing object, and the temperature of the liquid helium bath when the electrical noise emitted by the heat-fluxing object becomes greatly reduced, is determined. The total heat flux from the heat-fluxing object is determined as a function of this difference between these temperatures. In certain applications, the technique can be used to optimize thermal design parameters of cryogenic electronics, for example, Josephson junction and infra-red sensing devices.

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Tijeras, NM, United States of America

Robert V Duncan