Pumpable Ice Technology

Pumpable ice technology uses thin liquids that carry the cooling capacity of ice, made of ice crystal slurries suspended in brine, seawater, food liquid or gas bubbles, to deliver protective cooling in a medical setting. The slurry can be injected intra-arterially or intravenously, run along the surface of an external organ during laparoscopy, or delivered through an endotracheal tube, and researchers have studied it as a way to selectively cool organs and limit ischemic damage following a stroke or cardiac arrest, since it can be pumped through narrow catheters while still carrying a high cooling capacity. As of the research reviewed, French and American results using the technology were still awaiting United States regulatory approval for medical use.