In clinical practice, the need to maintain or restore normothermia occurs in a host of clinical settings, including:

Surgery

• Prevention of hypothermia in surgical patients receiving general anesthesia
• Mechanism:  Induction of general anesthesia causes systemic vasodilation with subsequent redistribution of warm blood from the core to the periphery where it mixes with the cooler peripheral blood. This may cause a reduction of 0.5ºC - 1.5ºC in the patient’s core body temperature within a short time.
• Warming therapy is required to reduce the effect of redistribution and maintain normothermia (36°C - 38°C).

Post-Surgical Recovery / PACU

• Recovery from anesthesia-induced hypothermia
• Maintenance of normothermia

Trauma and Emergency Medicine

• Temperature recovery from environmentally caused hypothermia (exposure)
• Hypovolemic shock
• Major injury — exposure of core organs through injury
• Recovery from therapeutic hypothermia
• Potential for lower extremity patient interface

Burn Unit

• Maintenance of normothermia
• Potential for lower extremity patient interface

Future Applications

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Prophylaxis During Surgical Procedures

• Potential prevention of thrombus formation by keeping blood in lower extremities moving
• Mechanism:  application of heat and vacuum causes an increase in cross-sectional area of peripheral venous vasculature and a measurable increase in blood flow
• Potential for dual lower extremity application

Subcutaneous Vein Location

• Aids in IV insertion through visual location of veins
• Mechanism:  Heat and vacuum distend subcutaneous veins in the extremity

Therapeutic Cooling

• Malignant hyperthermia
• Environmental hyperthermia (heatstroke)
• Adjunctive therapy for treatment of stroke, neurological trauma or cardiac injury

Raynaud’s Disease

• Symptomatic relief of Raynaud’s Disease which is believed to be a condition or disease of the arteriovenous anastomosis (AVA) structures
• Mechanism:  Application of heat and vacuum opens AVAs, increasing blood flow to the affected extremity to relieve pain/discomfort.