Development of Precise-temperature-controlled Cooling Apparatus for Medical Application by Using Peltier Effect

This paper describes precise temperature controlled cooling apparatuses for medical application. A Peltier cryoprobe for dermis treatment and flexible cryoprobe for cryosurgery for deep region of human body were developed by utilizing the Peltier effect. The evaluation experiment of the Peltier cryoprobe was conducted. The proposed apparatus has enough performance to necrotize target diseased cells precisely. The proposed flexible cryoprobe is composed of a flexible resin tube enough to treat the deeper parts of the human body with a catheter. A Peltier element is attached at the top of the probe for active heat-transfer control of the cooling tip. The cooling experiments are carried out and the performance of the cryoprobe is evaluated. The achieved minimum temperature at the tip is -43degC.