Controlled Cooling of Visceral Fat Without Organ Injury
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for reducing visceral fat are non-specific and invasive, posing risks to surrounding organs, while superficial techniques are ineffective for deeper visceral fat.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for selectively disrupting visceral fat through controlled cooling using a cooled fluid infused into the abdominal cavity, avoiding damage to non-lipid-rich cells by crystallizing lipid-rich cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If mechanical removal techniques such as liposuction are used to remove visceral fat, then the amount of visceral fat is reduced, but there is a significant risk of mechanical damage to surrounding organs and tissue structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical removal techniques (liposuction) with a thermal field-based approach. Cooled fluid is introduced into the abdominal cavity to create a temperature gradient that selectively disrupts visceral fat through thermal effects rather than mechanical forces, thereby eliminating the risk of mechanical damage to surrounding organs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in temperature as the key parameter to achieve selective fat disruption. By controlling the temperature of the introduced fluid and monitoring tissue temperature, the system selectively affects visceral fat while preserving surrounding organs based on their different thermal responses and lipid crystallization temperatures.
2Quantity of substance
If superficial cooling techniques are used to reduce subcutaneous fat, then subcutaneous fat is reduced, but the technique is ineffective for deeper visceral fat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from superficial (surface-level) cooling to internal cooling by introducing cooled fluid directly into the abdominal cavity. This dimensional change from external to internal application allows the thermal field to reach deeper visceral fat deposits that are inaccessible to superficial cooling techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a cooled fluid as an intermediary medium to transmit thermal energy to visceral fat. The fluid serves as a carrier that distributes cold temperature throughout the abdominal cavity, enabling indirect cooling of deep visceral fat without requiring direct contact with the tissue.
3Manufacturing precision
If cooled fluid is introduced into the abdominal cavity to cool visceral fat, then selective disruption of lipid-rich cells occurs, but there is a risk of cooling surrounding non-lipid-rich cells
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates local thermal conditions within the abdominal cavity that selectively affect lipid-rich cells. By controlling the temperature distribution and utilizing the different thermal properties of fat versus other tissues, the system achieves localized disruption of visceral fat while maintaining safe temperatures for surrounding organs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs temperature monitoring and feedback control to regulate the cooling process. Sensors detect tissue temperature, and this information feeds back to the fluid cooling system to adjust the temperature of the introduced fluid, ensuring selective fat disruption while preventing excessive cooling of surrounding tissues.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Achieves targeted reduction of visceral fat with minimal injury to surrounding tissues, improving health and cosmetic outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
Lipid crystallization in fat cells may be a mechanism by which such disruption of the fatty tissue occurs
Implementation Method 2
controlled cooling of the fatty tissue to a temperature sufficient to selectively disrupt the fatty tissue without causing injury to the surrounding tissue
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of cooling to produce selective disruption of visceral fat tissue in a non-infant human subject comprising infusing a cooled fluid into the abdominal or peritoneal cavity, or into other parts of the body containing visceral fat, to cool the proximal tissue sufficiently to selectively disrupt lipid-rich cells therein, for example, to promote subsequent damage and absorption of lipid-rich cells by the body without producing unwanted effects in non-lipid-rich cells; e.g., without injury to internal organ tissues that could otherwise produce life-threating risks. The cooled fluid can be infused using a catheter arrangement. The cooled fluid can be retained within the abdominal category for a particular duration, and then drained using the catheter arrangement. In certain embodiments, the cooled fluid can be simultaneously introduced into the abdominal cavity and drained therefrom.