Belmont Hyperthermia Pump in the conduct of intra-operative heated chemotherapy

Intra-operative heated chemotherapy (IOHC) has been performed in the Thoracic surgical department of Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH, Boston, MA, USA) for over a decade. A "home-grown" system was developed for this purpose with limited improvements made to it through the years. This technology is used for neo-adjuvant therapy in the conduct of extra-pleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy for treatment of mesothelioma. Improvements to the traditional BWH system were sought due to the hazardous nature of the chemotherapy solution and the relative complexity of the IOHC circuit. Belmont Instrument (Belmont Instrument Corporation, Billerica, MA, USA) applied their proprietary infusion/warming technology to develop the Belmont Hyperthermia Pump. The Hyperthermia Pump was designed to recirculate large volumes of fluid while maintaining perfusate temperatures up to 46oC at a flow rate of up to 750 ml/min. Approval from the FDA for clinical use of this device was granted June 2007. Parameters were defined and investigated to determine if the Hyperthermia Pump would meet or exceed the performance characteristics of the traditional BWH system. Our investigation resulted in the replacement of the traditional BWH circuit. The Belmont Hyperthermia Pump is a compact, easy to use, extremely safe means to deliver intra-operative hyperthermic chemotherapy in the conduct of surgical treatment of mesothelioma.