A patient temperaturecontrol system and method areprovided for automated temperaturecontrol according to a programmedprotocol. In one aspect, at leastone programmed protocol may beestablished for each of a plurality ofpatient thermal therapy phases. Theprogrammed protocol controls, atleast in part, the temperature of athermal exchange medium duringeach phase. In another aspect, aplurality of programmed protocolsmay be established, wherein a selectedone of the protocols may be utilizedfor automated temperature controlduring patient thermal therapy. Theprotocol(s) may include a targetpatient temperature and/or a setduration for one or more phases.Further, the protocol(s) may beuser-definable and modifiable duringtherapy. In a multiphase configuration,automatic termination and initiationof specific phases may be selectivelyestablished by a user, based on targetpatient temperature data and/or setduration data.
