Glacier Bay is a leader in the emerging science of medical thermal management. It has been known for hundreds of years that biological processes slow down at lower temperatures. Making effective use of that fact to benefit modern medicine has been a difficult challenge. Generally speaking, humans and animals injured in conditions which quickly induce hypothermia (lowering of body temperature) are less likely to suffer permanent damage than those injured in hot conditions. Obviously, there are limits. The challenge has been how to understand these limits and tightly control temperature within them.

Intravascular cooling

In 2002, Glacier Bay, under contract with Alsius Corporation began development of the CoolGard 3000, a device which would cool the patient from the inside out. This would be accomplished by circulating a temperature-controlled saline solution through a special heat-exchange catheter which is placed in the VenaCava (major heart blood vessel). Cooling the blood directly is the fastest and most effective way to induce mild hypothermia. It also avoids the problem of over-cooling extremities - a major factor limiting the use of external cooling methods such as ice baths.

Patient trials conclusively proved the benefit of the procedure and the FDA granted approval for its use. The Alsius CoolGard 3000 is now recognized internationally as the industry standard for intravascular cooling. With the market rapidly expanding, Glacier Bay continues as the manufacturer of choice for Alsius Corporation.