Fluid disinfection unit for patient temperature control system

Abstract

A fluid disinfection unit [is incorporated into a patient warming/cooling system [], to reduce the risk of bacteria buildup in the warming/cooling fluid, which is typically water. More particularly, a mobile housing [contains the operable components for circulating warming/cooling fluid to a patient [, including a pump [], a heating/cooling source [, a reservoir [, a controller [] and a control panel [to assist a user in operating the components. The reservoir [has upper [] and lower [] sections, for replenishing water and circulating water, respectively. A UV source [is mounted so as to extend through both reservoir sections [], to simultaneously emit UV light into both sections during circulation of the warming/cooling fluid, thereby to disinfect the water contained therein. The UV source [] includes a bulb [protected within a transparent cover [that is completely transparent, and has been treated so as to be shatterproof. A sensor [mounted to the housing [detects the UV emission level within the reservoir [, and generates a signal to indicate the on/off status of the UV bulb [, and/or the magnitude of the UV light within the reservoir [