Coiled heat exchanger for cryosurgical instrument
US8709005B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 14, 2011 |
| Grant date | Apr 29, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 14, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2018/0293
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A cryosurgical instrument including: a shaft having a closed distal end defining an expansion chamber and an open proximal end adapted and configured to receive an inflow of cryogen and to exhaust a flow of expanded cryogen; and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger includes: a plurality of cryogen delivery tubes that spiral around a longitudinal axis thereof; and a diffuser having a plurality of branches, each of the branches supplying received cryogen to a respective one of the delivery tubes. The cryogen delivery tubes, where they spiral, are spaced from each other and in fluid tight contact with the inner surface of the shaft so as to form spiraling cryogen exhaust pathways that extend along a portion of a length of the cryosurgical instrument from the distal end of the shaft.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.