DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COOLING LIVING TISSUE
The present disclosure provides a device and a method for cooling living tissues for a medical purpose and other purposes. The cooling device comprises: a container configured to accommodate a cooling medium, the container including a plurality of divided members each having a contact surface which is thermally coupled with the cooling medium; a cooling generator configured to provide cooling energy to the container, and disposed on another surface of the divided member other than the contact surface; and a lubricating member provided to the contact surface of the divided member, wherein the container is configured to be thermally coupled with the cooling medium via the lubricating member.
1 . A medical cooling device comprising:
a container configured to accommodate a cooling medium, the container including a plurality of divided members each having a contact surface which is thermally coupled with the cooling medium;
a cooling generator configured to provide cooling energy to the container, and disposed on another surface of the divided member other than the contact surface; and
a lubricating member provided to the contact surface of the divided member, wherein the container is configured to be thermally coupled with the cooling medium via the lubricating member.
2 . The medical cooling device of claim 1 , further comprising a first elastic unit configured to connect the plurality of divided members to thermally couple the contact surfaces of the divided members with the cooling medium.
3 . The medical cooling device of claim 2 , further comprising a second elastic unit disposed on the container and configured to provide compressive force normal to the cooling medium.
4 . The medical cooling device of claim 3 , wherein the first and second elastic unit comprises a spring.
5 . The medical cooling device of claim 2 , wherein the first elastic unit comprises a tube made of elastic material that surrounds the container.
6 . The medical cooling device of claim 1 , wherein the lubricating member is configured to provide lubrication between the container and the cooling medium, and is formed on a portion of the contact surface or on the entire contact surface.
7 . The medical cooling device of claim 1 , wherein the lubricating member comprises a polished surface having a roughness of 100 μm or less.
8 . The medical cooling device of claim 1 , wherein the lubricating member comprises a solid lubricant coated on the contact surface.
9 . The medical cooling device of claim 8 , wherein the solid lubricant includes at least one of diamond like carbon, graphite, graphene, or graphene oxide.
10 . The medical cooling device of claim 1 , wherein hardness of a portion of the container where the lubricating member is provided is greater than hardness of other portions of the container, and
a friction coefficient of the portion of the container where the lubricating member is provided is less than friction coefficients of the other portions of the container.
11 . The medical cooling device of claim 8 , wherein the lubricating member is formed by coating material including at least one of nickel, a nickel alloy, a chrome alloy, a tungsten alloy, a molybdenum alloy, fluoropolymer, a cobalt chromium, or an aluminum alloy on the contact surface.
12 . A method of cooling a target area, the method comprising:
providing a cooling device comprising:
a container configured to accommodate a cooling medium, the container including a plurality of divided members each having a contact surface which is thermally coupled with the cooling medium;
a cooling generator configured to provide cooling energy to the container, and disposed on another surface of the divided member other than the contact surface; and
a lubricating member provided to the contact surface of the divided member, wherein the container is configured to be thermally coupled with the cooling medium via the lubricating member.