Device for Emergency Treatment of Hypothermia

A new fluid-warming device is designed to treat hypothermia patients in an emergency department or prehospital setting by warming intravenous (IV) solutions or blood and thereby increasing the core temperature of the body.

The device, called Hot IV, is a lightweight, small portable warming device that provides an efficient and cost-effective way to both prevent and treat hypothermia. The disposable device preheats solutions and comes ready to connect to an IV bag. Audible and visual alarms ensure proper performance. The device is intended to enhance cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency measures, which can be ineffective in patients with hypothermia, when core temperature falls below 35o C. The device can be powered by a battery or electrical wall connection.

Hypothermia can be a significant problem in emergency care and trauma cases as well as in major surgical procedures. Very young and very old patients are the segments most vulnerable to hypothermia because lower core temperatures slow the rate of vital chemical activities in the body. The Hot IV is the product of IMT Medical Technologies (Dallas, TX, USA).

"IMT Medical is the first company to market a portable, low-cost, effective fluid-warming device to treat hypothermia,” noted Matthew Cole, CEO of IMT Medical.




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