Thermal contrast therapy systems, devices and methods

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to thermal contrast therapy systems, and automated thermal contrast therapy devices configured to interact with such systems and to perform customized thermal contrast therapy treatment sequences. Treatments may be prescribed by a treatment provider or selected by a user of a thermal contrast therapy device associated with such a system. In some embodiments, a thermal contrast therapy device may be configured to receive an indication from one or more temperature sensors and/or flow meters and to effect a desired measure of heat transfer during treatment, for example, by automatically adjusting the temperature and/or flow rate of the heat transfer fluid. In some embodiments, a thermal contrast therapy device may be configured to receive an indication of one or more physiological parameter values and to perform a customized thermal contrast therapy treatment sequence based, at least in part, on the one or more physiological parameter values.

1 . A thermal contrast therapy device, the device comprising:
 a pump configured to circulate fluid through a treatment cuff comprising an entrance and an exit in a sequence comprising a plurality of alternating cooling periods and heating periods, the treatment cuff configured to be applied to a patient;   a motor operably coupled to the pump; the motor configured to vary the speed of the pump, the speed of the pump at least in part effecting the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff;   a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of fluid having circulated through the treatment cuff exit; and   a processor configured to:
 (i) receive an input from an auxiliary device configured to measure one or more of: blood flow and blood oxygen level, the input indicative of a blood flow value and/or blood oxygen level value exhibited by the patient, and to modify a series of alternating heating periods and cooling periods for at least a portion of the sequence, each in respect of a specified measure of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient for said periods in the series, when the input indicates a deviation from a target value or range; and 
 (ii) ascertain a measure of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient based at least in part on an input from the temperature sensor, and to cause the device to change the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff based at least in part on the measure of heat transfer and/or the input from the auxiliary device, the change effective at least in part to effect the specified measure of heat transfer for said periods in the series. 
   
     
     
         2 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the specified measure of heat transfer comprises one or more of: a rate of heat transfer and a quantity of heat transfer. 
     
     
         3 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 2 , wherein the rate of heat transfer is between about 0.5 BTU/min to about 25 BTU/min. 
     
     
         4 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 2 , wherein the quantity of heat transfer is between about 0.5 BTU to about 50 BTU. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to transition the rate of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient from a first rate of heat transfer to a second rate of heat transfer by automatically adjusting the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff. 
     
     
         7 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to maintain the rate of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient at about a specified rate for at least an ascertainable duration by automatically adjusting the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff. 
     
     
         8 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to circulate fluid through the treatment cuff at a flow rate of between about 10 mL/min to about 1000 mL/min. 
     
     
         9 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to effect an adjustment to the duration of the sequence when the patient exhibits a physiological parameter value corresponding to a predefined value. 
     
     
         10 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 9 , wherein the physiological parameter comprises one or more of: core body temperature, local body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. 
     
     
         11 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 9 , wherein the predefined value comprises one or more of: a target value, a minimum value, a maximum value, a range, an average, a standard deviation, an upper control limit, a lower control limit, a calculated value, a previous value, a change in value, an increase from a previous value, a decrease from a previous value, a safety threshold, and a deviation from any of the foregoing. 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises:
 a hot reservoir and one or more heating elements configured to heat fluid in the hot reservoir, the hot reservoir configured to store fluid for heating periods; and   a cold reservoir and one or more cooling modules configured to cool fluid in the cold reservoir, the cold reservoir configured to store fluid for cooling periods; and   wherein the hot reservoir and the one or more heating elements, and the cold reservoir and the one or more cooling modules, are configured to provide a series of alternating heating periods and cooling periods, each of the periods in the series having a duration between about 15 seconds to about 60 seconds and a rate of heat transfer between about 0.5 BTU/min to about 25 BTU/min, to increase the blood flow value and/or the blood oxygen level value exhibited by the patient.   
     
     
         20 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence further comprises a plurality of transition periods, each occurring between the alternating cooling periods and heating periods, and wherein each transition period comprises transitioning the rate of heat transfer effected between the fluid and the patient from about a first rate which corresponds to the period preceding the transition period to about a second rate which corresponds to the period following the transition period, and wherein at least one transition period is less than about 30 seconds. 
     
     
         21 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence is based, at least in part, on one or more of the following characteristics: age, gender, body mass, body fat percentage, body mass index, metabolic rate, neural sensitivity, a particular area of the body sought to be treated, a particular symptom or condition sought to be treated, and a particular desired therapeutic result. 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , the device further comprising a hot reservoir and one or more heating elements configured to heat fluid in the hot reservoir, the hot reservoir configured to store fluid for heating periods. 
     
     
         28 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , the device further comprising a cold reservoir and one or more cooling modules configured to cool fluid in the cold reservoir, the cold reservoir configured to store fluid for cooling periods. 
     
     
         29 . The thermal contrast therapy device of  claim 1 , the device further comprising one or more valves configured to direct fluid exiting the treatment cuff to one or more fluid reservoirs. 
     
     
         30 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to effect a pressure pulse in the fluid, the pressure pulse having a frequency synchronized with the patient's heart rate. 
     
     
         31 . A method of providing customized thermal contrast therapy, the method comprising:
 pumping fluid with a pump, to circulate the fluid through a treatment cuff comprising an entrance and an exit, the treatment cuff having been applied to a patient, in a sequence comprising a plurality of alternating cooling periods and heating periods;   receiving an input from an auxiliary device configured to measure one or more of: blood flow and blood oxygen level, the input indicative of a blood flow value and/or blood oxygen level value exhibited by the patient, and modifying a series of alternating heating periods and cooling periods for at least a portion of the sequence, each in respect of a specified measure of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient for said periods in the sequence, when the input indicates a deviation from a target value or range; and   ascertaining a measure of heat transfer between the fluid and the patient based at least in part on an input from a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of fluid having circulated through the treatment cuff exit; and   changing the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the treatment cuff based at least in part on the measure of heat transfer and/or the input from the auxiliary device, the change effective at least in part to effect the specified measure of heat transfer for said periods in the series.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the specified measure of heat transfer comprises one or more of: a rate of heat transfer and a quantity of heat transfer, the rate of heat transfer being between about 0.5 BTU/min to about 25 BTU/min, and the quantity of heat transfer being between about 0.5 BTU to about 50 BTU. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31 , the method further comprising effecting a pressure pulse in the fluid, the pressure pulse having a frequency synchronized with the patient's heart rate. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 31 , the method further comprising changing the specified measure of heat transfer corresponding to one or more of the periods when a physiological parameter value exhibited by the patient corresponds to a predefined value, the physiological parameter value comprising one or more of: heart rate and blood pressure. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , the method further comprising changing the specified measure of heat transfer to optimize the physiological parameter. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , the method further comprising changing the specified measure of heat transfer corresponding to the period during which the patient exhibits the physiological parameter value. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , the method further comprising changing the specified measure of heat transfer corresponding to a period subsequent to the period during which the patient exhibits the physiological parameter value. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 31 , the method further comprising providing further customized thermal contrast therapy comprising subsequently providing one or more treatments having a prescribed sequence based, at least in part, on one or more blood flow values and/or blood oxygen level values exhibited by the patient during then-previous treatments. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein one or more of the periods has a duration between about 15 seconds to about 60 seconds. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the method further comprises a plurality of transition periods, each occurring between the alternating cooling periods and heating periods, and wherein each transition period comprises transitioning the rate of heat transfer effected between the fluid and the patient from about a first rate which corresponds to the period preceding the transition period to about a second rate which corresponds to the period following the transition period, and wherein at least one transition period is less than about 30 seconds. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the method is effective to cause an increase in blood circulation in tissue proximate to the treatment cuff, and wherein changing the flow rate of the fluid is effective, at least in part, to optimize the magnitude of the increase. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the method is effective to increase blood oxygen content in tissue proximate to the treatment cuff, and wherein changing the flow rate of the fluid is effective, at least in part, to optimize the magnitude of the increase.