A chill to the heart

This chapter focuses on various aspects of therapeutic hypothermia. Scientists and researchers are exploring new applications and devices that seek to save vital organs, particularly hearts and brains, from undergoing excessive damage after a heart has stopped and been restarted. Research is under way to make cooling more efficient by concentrating o n a specific organ of interest. A medical company is working on an endovascular regional cooler for the heart. Funded by Small Business Innovative Research grants from the National Institutes of Health and by angel investment, the technology seeks to rapidly cool heart tissue during emergency angioplasty. FocalCool is developing a new guide catheter called CoolGuide. CoolGuide maintains the functionality of standard guide catheters, providing coronary artery access for devices like angioplasty catheters and stents, while also delivering targeted chilled blood to heart tissue at risk. Researchers believe that therapeutic hypothermia can also improve lives by saving seemingly tiny amounts of tissue at risk, enabling vital organs to continue working well. Therapeutic hypothermia is an exciting and evolving field of medical care.