March 14, 2008 - Thirteen of the 18 top-ranked U.S. News and World Report hospitals (72.2 percent) use the noninvasive Arctic Sun device from Medivance for induced hypothermia and re-warming patients.
Medivance said this week 16 of the top 20 heart programs (80 percent) and 16 of the top 20 neurology programs cool and re-warm patients with the automated Arctic Sun device.
“Fever kills brain cells,” said Dr. Andrew Kafka, co-director of neurocritical care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which is ranked among the nation’s best overall hospitals. “This notion that temperature is brain has become a key concept used in the management of patients in our NeuroICU. I believe state -of-the-art temperature management, using devices such at the Arctic Sun cooling system, combined with pharmacological aids, is an essential element in prevention of secondary brain damage after a brain injury.”
A growing body of clinical data published in the New England Journal of Medicine and other top journals indicates lowering body temperature, followed by slow rewarming, limits neurologic damage in a wide range of critically ill patients.
The Arctic Sun transfers up to five times more energy than conventional products such as water blankets, wraps or ice packs, the company says. Its ArcticGel pads cool rapidly, the result of direct thermal conduction between circulating water and a patient’s skin.
The company says the number of teaching and community hospitals that cool with the Arctic Sun is growing rapidly due to its ease of use, speed with which nurses can initiate the therapy.
The noninvasive Arctic Sun Temperature Management System precisely monitors and maintains core body temperature in a therapeutic range, between 32° and 38.5° Celsius (approximately 89.6° to 101.3° Fahrenheit) with the potential to minimize damage to the heart and brain. The Arctic Sun received 510(k) FDA clearance in the U.S., the European Union’s CE Mark and marketing approval in Japan.
For more information: www.medivance.com