Method and apparatus for treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous conditions

Abstract

The present invention provides method and apparatus for treating tissue in a region at depth while protecting non-targeted tissue by cyclically applying cooling to the patients skin, and preferably to the region, and by applying radiation to the patient's skin above the region to selectively heat tissue during and / or after cooling is applied. At least one of cooling and radiation my be applied by successively passing a continuous output applicator over the patient's skin. Treatment may also be enhanced by applying mechanical, acoustic or electrical stimulation to the region.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 465,757 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,276,058, filed Jun. 19, 2003 which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 389,871, filed Jun. 19, 2002 entitled “Method And Apparatus For Treatment Of Cutaneous And Subcutaneous Conditions”, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to methods and apparatus for the photothermal treatment of tissue and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for treating cutaneous and subcutaneous conditions at depth. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] The benefits of being able to raise and / or lower the temperature in a selected region of tissue for various therapeutic and cosmetic purposes has been known for some time. For instance, heated pads or plates or various forms of electromagnetic radiation, including visible, i...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention provides a method and apparatus for treating a selected target region at depth in a patient's body while protecting non-targeted tissue. This is achieved by cooling the patient's skin surface to a temperature below normal body temperature for a selected duration and then selectively applying radiation to the skin above the region before, during, or after cooling. The cooling and radiation application can be performed for a number of cycles, with the cooling duration being at least about 10 seconds and the radiation application for one second to 4 minutes. The cooling can be continuous while the radiation is applied at intervals during cooling. The treatment involves cycling cooling and heating of the treatment region, with the radiation being of sufficient power and duration to heat the region to an appropriate temperature for effecting the treatment. The treatment can be controlled based on the patient's condition and can involve stimulation of the selected region before, during, or after the treatment. The invention also provides a method of delivering radiation to the patient's body while cooling the region above the treatment area. The treatment can be performed by cyclically applying radiation and cooling through an applicator that provides continuous cooling / radiation output."

Problems solved by technology

Further, while microwaves or ultrasonic and other acoustic radiation have been used in the past, such radiation has had limited use because, particularly for microwaves, they may be potentially mutagenic, may potentially otherwise result in cell or systemic damage and, particularly for acoustic sources, are relatively expensive.

They may also not be practical for large-area treatment.

However, such high energy can cause damage to the surface layers of tissue and pain / discomfort to the patient, making it difficult to achieve desired photothermal treatments in tissue regions at depth.

For these reasons, optical radiation has heretofore had at most limited value for therapeutic and cosmetic treatments on tissue at depth.

However, use of cooling or heating, either alone or in combination for treatment of conditions at depth, for example for skin improvement, cellulite improvement, fat reduction, and treatment of other conditions has been limited by the body's pain / discomfort tolerance and by the damage limits of treated organs and adjacent, especially cutaneous, tissue that need to be kept intact.

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