GB1095988A - Improvements in and relating to extreme hyperthermy - Google Patents

Abstract

1,095,988. Hot water bath for hypothermic treatment. M. VON ARDENNE. June 29, 1965, No. 27528/65. Heading A5R. A device for extreme hypothermic treatment of human beings while horizontally disposed, at a whole body temperature of 41- 42‹C., comprises a double-chambered water bath with a dividing wall surrounding the neck or upper thorax of the patient so that the body can be completely immersed in hot water while the head and neck are not immersed, or are partially immersed in cold water, the bath also, havin a water-tight, submersible short-wave heating means for local heating of a tumour on the patient to 44‹C., at least one probe for insertion into the tissue of the tumour region to measure the local temperature, and monitoring means for supervising the heart action and blood circulation of the patient. The device is a bath 1 mounted on a lifting jack 2, the patient 5 secured by straps 6 and lying on a grating 3 covered by perforated padding 4; the grating is preferably capable of elevation within the bath. The two chambers, 9 and 15, for the body and head respectively, are divided by a wall 7 which elastically bears against and forms a seal around the neck or thorax of the patient, and is either openable, e.g. by a zip closure, or removable so that the patient can be rapidly removed from the bath; an adjustable foot abutment 8 pushes the patient against the dividing wall. The two chambers each have a water supply pipe 10 and 16, a discharge pipe 11 and 17, and an overflow 12 and 18 for governing the water level. The body chamber has an additional emergency rapid discharge pipe 13. The neck of the patient may be further cooled by an ice pack 20. Local heating is effected by a water-tight short-wave device 21 with an eddy current coil system, the diameter of the coils being varied to provide different penetration depths. The device is surrounded by an open-ended ferrite sleeve 22 to direct the field lines into the tissue, and may be energised at 20 to 25, or 13 megacycles/ sec. Temperature supervision is by laser-welded thermocouples in fine cannulae 25 inserted into the tissue, and by rectal 23 and sub-lingual 24 heat-sensing devices. An electrocardiotachograph 27 is connected to the patient to monitor the heart beat; the thermometers and cardiograph may be connected to an automatic warning and safety system which controls the bath temperature and in a crisis, automatically opens a valve in the emergency water discharge pipe.