This invention relates to an apparatus and method for applying transversal ultrasound waves to a patient's skin in order to damage and/or destroy adipocytes and fatty deposits located under the dermis of the patient's skin while avoiding the generation of longitudinal ultrasound waves perpendicular to the skin surface beyond a particular depth.
Procedures currently exist for removing fat cells under the skin, whereby those fat cells or adipose cells are also commonly referred to as “adipocytes.” One such procedure ruptures adipocytes using longitudinal ultrasound waves, whereby ultrasound waves are applied to adipose tissue beneath the skin surface (the dermis). The ultrasound waves rupture the adipocytes in the adipose tissue under the skin surface, causing necrosis, which can cause extensive collateral damage to other non-fat tissue (e.g., blood vessels, connective tissue, dermis, etc.).
U.S. Pat. No. 8,579,835 to Britva et al. describes an improved fat cell killing apparatus and method, which applies both transverse ultrasound waves and longitudinal ultrasound waves to a patient's skin. Britva's uses a sonotrobe to apply the transverse ultrasound waves and longitudinal ultrasound waves to a patient's skin, whereby the sonotrobe has a curved distal portion having a plurality of undulations or ridges provided along the curved distal portion, for application of transverse ultrasound waves to a patient's skin.
Britva describes applying longitudinal ultrasound waves to a patient's skin during a hot mode of operation, and to apply transverse ultrasound waves to the patient's skin during a cold mode of operation, in order to enhance the destruction of adipocytes under the skin surface. Britva describes that adipocytes typically die within three days after treatment of a patient's skin with both transverse ultrasound waves and longitudinal ultrasound waves.
Britva describes the use of two resonant frequencies: a) a cold mode resonant frequency of about 69 kHz, and b) a hot mode resonant frequency of about 60 kHz. During operation in the cold mode, Britva's sonotrobe applies ultrasound vibrations in the distal portion of his sonotrobe primarily in a direction substantially perpendicular to the elongate neck axis (e.g., the longitudinal axis) of the sonotrobe, and whereby a transverse mechanical standing wave is generated in the distal portion of his sonotrobe by way of ridges that convert longitudinal waves to transverse waves, for application to the patient's skin. During operation in the hot mode, Britva's sonotrobe applies ultrasound vibrations in the distal portion of his sonotrobe primarily in a direction substantially parallel to the elongate neck axis of the sonotrobe, and whereby a longitudinal mechanical standing wave is generated in the distal portion of his sonotrobe.
Britva goes on to describe that application of ultrasound waves in the cold mode and the hot mode provides for good results regarding destruction of adipocytes under the skin surface.
Britva's ultrasound generator housed within a proximal part of his sonotrobe only outputs longitudinal waves, for which some of those waves are converted to transverse waves by way of the complex structure of his distal curved portion with plural ridges or undulations (as shown in
It is known in the art that the low frequency longitudinal waves have a high depth of penetration inside the human body. For this reason low frequency longitudinal waves are considered safe only frequency above 50 KHz because higher attenuation occurs in human tissue in these frequency ranges. Low frequency longitudinal waves are recognized as good choice in order to damage the adipocytes. But several complex technical challenges, like focusing, need to be overcome in order to avoid the undesirable application of high energy levels being inside the inner organs of the body. Moreover it is well known that with low frequency longitudinal waves, is very easy to generate cavitation, which, while dissolving the fatty deposits, may cause damage to human tissue. Instead, low frequency ultrasound waves should be used where very high energy is concentrated in the first two centimeters of depth and high attenuation is experienced beyond the first two centimeters. Moreover, at a frequency of 30 KHz, due to the low propagation speed, around 5 meters per seconds, the wavelength of the transverse ultrasound waves is around 160 micron, which is the same order of magnitude of the resonant frequency of adipocytes. An adipocyte treated under the transverse ultrasound waves at a frequency of around 30 KHz will resonate and the fatty deposit inside is damaged. The generation of low frequency transversal ultrasound waves usually causes also the generation of longitudinal waves at the same time. The purpose of this invention is to avoid the generation of longitudinal waves that could reach inner part of the body in direction perpendicular to the skin surface or limit their intensity.
One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in an apparatus for treating adipose tissue located beneath a patient's skin. The apparatus includes a main body portion that houses an ultrasound transducer, in which the main body portion is provided at a proximal end of the apparatus furthest from the patient's skin when the patient is being treated with the apparatus. The apparatus further includes a semisphere portion provided at a distal end of the apparatus and that is configured to contact the patient's skin when the patient is being treated with the apparatus. The apparatus further includes an intermediate portion provided between the main body portion and the semisphere portion, in which the intermediate portion is disposed substantially perpendicular to the main body portion such that a main axis of the main body portion is provided along a first plane substantially parallel to a second plane corresponding to a surface of the patient's skin being treated with the apparatus, and such that a main axis of the intermediate portion is provided along a third plane substantially perpendicular to the second plane. The ultrasound transducer is configured to vibrate along the first plane and to thereby cause the semisphere portion to vibrate substantially parallel to the patient's skin due to a connector provided within the intermediate portion that connects the ultrasound transducer to the semisphere. This results in transverse ultrasound waves being applied to the patient's skin by way of the apparatus, which results in destruction and/or damage to adipocytes located beneath a dermis of the patient's skin.
Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in a method for treating adipose tissue located beneath a patient's skin. The method includes outputting transverse ultrasound vibrations from an ultrasound transducer provided in a proximal end of the probe to a first end of a connecting rod. The method also includes providing the transverse ultrasound vibrations from the first end of the connecting rod to a second end of the connecting rod that is connected to a semisphere portion located at a distal end of the probe. The transverse ultrasound vibrations are configured to be applied to the patient's skin by contacting the semisphere portion of the probe to the patient's skin.
In one or more additional embodiments, an apparatus having two semisphere portions are provided to provide a symmetrical device, which overcomes potential drawbacks to non-symmetrical or non-complimentary transducers in which small ultrasonic vibrations in direction perpendicular to the skin may be disadvantageously generated if the device is not well balanced.
For example, in accordance with one or more embodiments, an apparatus may be provided for treating adipose tissue located beneath a skin surface of a patient. The apparatus may comprise a main body portion that houses a first ultrasound transducer positioned in such a way in order to vibrate only in a first direction parallel to the skin surface; a first semispherical portion provided at first distal end of the apparatus and configured to be pressed against the skin in order to bend the skin in such a way that a lower portion of the first semispherical portion is positioned at a same depth as a surrounding first layer of adipocytes to be treated; and a first rigid intermediate portion provided between the first ultrasound transducer and the first semispherical portion, the first rigid intermediate portion coupling vibration from the first ultrasound transducer to the first semispherical portion to cause the first semispherical portion to vibrate only in the first direction, with a same intensity and with a same phase of the first ultrasound transducer and only parallel to the skin surface and without vibration in a direction perpendicular to skin surface, the coupled vibration generating transverse ultrasound waves perpendicular to the skin surface and at a predetermined depth, and longitudinal waves in the first direction parallel to the skin surface. In one or more embodiments, a cross-sectional curvature radius of a distal end of the first semispherical portion may be set to establish a depth at which adipose cells in the adipose tissue located beneath the skin surface of the patient are damaged or destroyed when the first semispherical portion is pressed against the skin surface of the patient to the established depth. In one or more embodiments, the cross-sectional curvature radius of the distal end of the first semispherical portion may further be set such that a maximum intensity of the of the transverse ultrasound waves occurs at the established depth.
In one or more embodiments, the first semispherical portion has a smooth outer surface to facilitate movement on the skin surface during pressing. In one or more embodiments, a frequency of the transverse ultrasound vibrations are within the range of from 20 kHz-60 kHz. In one or more embodiments, the transverse ultrasound vibrations are pulsed within a range of 50 Hz-100 Hz and the duty cycle between 10% and 50%. In one or more embodiments, the first semispherical portion may be configured to press into the surface of the skin at a depth of between 5 mm to 40 mm thus generating transverse ultrasound waves at the corresponding depth. In accordance with one or more embodiments, a diameter of the first semispherical portion may be approximately 50 mm. In accordance with one or more embodiments, the power flux applied to patient skin is in a range if between 1 W/cm2 to 3 W/cm2. In one or more embodiments, the intermediate portion between the transducer and the semispherical may be made of aluminum. In one or more additional or alternative embodiments, the intermediate portion between the transducer and the semispherical may be made of steel.
In still further accordance with one or more embodiments, an exemplary apparatus may further comprise a second ultrasound transducer housed in the main body portion and positioned next to and in an opposing driving relation to the first ultrasound transducer in such a way as to vibrate only in a second direction parallel to the skin surface and opposite to the first direction; a second semispherical portion provided at the distal end of the apparatus and configured to be pressed against the skin in order to bend the skin in such a way that a lower portion of the second semispherical portion is positioned at the same depth as the surrounding first layer of the adipocytes to be treated; and a second rigid intermediate portion provided between the second ultrasound transducer and the second semispherical portion, the second rigid intermediate portion coupling vibration from the second ultrasound transducer to the second semispherical portion to cause the second semispherical portion to vibrate only in a same direction, with a same intensity and with a same phase of the second ultrasound transducer; in an opposite direction, with a same intensity and with an opposite phase of the first ultrasound transducer and only parallel to the skin surface and without vibration in the direction perpendicular to the skin surface, the coupled vibration generating transverse ultrasound waves perpendicular to the skin surface and at the predetermined depth, and longitudinal waves in the direction parallel to the skin surface. In one or more embodiments, a cross-sectional curvature radius of a distal end of the second semispherical portion is set at the depth at which adipose cells in the adipose tissue located beneath the skin surface of the patient are damaged or destroyed when the second semispherical portion is pressed against the skin surface of the patient to the established depth. In one or more embodiments, the cross-sectional curvature radius of the distal end of the second semispherical portion is further set such that the maximum intensity of the transverse ultrasound waves occurs at the established depth.
The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.
The present specification is directed to an apparatus and method for applying transversal ultrasound waves to a patient's skin in order to damage and/or destroy adipocytes located under the dermis of the patient's skin in which two semisphere portions are provided.
According to one or more embodiments, a probe provides transverse ultrasound vibrations to a patient's skin, whereby those transverse ultrasound vibrations impinge on the skin surface substantially parallel to the skin surface, and enter into the skin surface a predetermined depth, such as 20-40 mm before being substantially attenuated, so as to damage and/or destroy adipose cells within a certain range (e.g., 0.01 to 40 mm) under the skin surface.
Referring now to
In one embodiment, the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100 has a radius of 20 mm, so that transverse ultrasound vibrations are applied to a depth of 20 mm by way of pressing the semisphere portion of the probe 100 against the patient's skin during treatment of the patient's skin to damage and/or destroy adipose cells underneath the patient's skin.
In some embodiments, the strength of the transverse ultrasound vibrations is strong enough such that adipose cells located within a range up to 40 mm beneath the patient's skin are damaged and/or destroyed when subjected to those transverse ultrasound vibrations.
By providing an apparatus for directly applying transverse ultrasound waves output from an ultrasound transducer provided within a probe to a patient's skin, a less complex, easier-to-manufacture, and less-susceptible-to-malfunction probe than what is described in the Britva patent is obtained, and whereby the inventor of this application has determined that supplying only transverse ultrasound waves to a patient's skin provides a better effect than applying both transverse and longitudinal ultrasound waves at a same time period or at consecutive time periods.
Also, by utilizing a semisphere portion having a smooth outer surface at a distal end of the probe, whereby no ridges or undulations are provided on the outer surface of the semisphere portion (in contrast to the structure of Britva), a smoother treatment effect can be obtained, whereby the semisphere portion can easily glide over a portion of the patient's skin to be treated to damage and/or destroy adipose cells located beneath that portion of the patient's skin. Also, since there is no need to have a complex-shaped distal portion of the probe as required in Britva's structure to convert longitudinal vibrations to transverse vibrations, an easier-to-manufacture probe can be obtained, and as stated above, a more pleasant effect can be obtained during treatment of a patient's skin due to the smooth (e.g., non-undulating and non-ridged) shape of the semisphere portion of the probe that is in direct contact with the patient's skin.
The probe 100 of
The ultrasound transducer is configured to vibrate along the first plane 140 and to thereby cause the semisphere portion 110 to vibrate substantially parallel to the patient's skin due to a connector provided within the intermediate portion that connects the ultrasound transducer to the semisphere. This results in transverse ultrasound waves being applied to the patient's skin by way of the probe 100, which results in destruction and/or damage to adipocytes located beneath a dermis of the patient's skin.
With reference to
The transverse ultrasound vibrations output from the ultrasound transducer are transferred to the semisphere portion of the probe by way of a metal plate, or connector rod 130, as shown in
In some embodiments, to maintain as lightweight a construction as possible, the connector rod 130 has many holes provided along its main axis, as does the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100. Also, due to the fact that the speed of ultrasound vibrations traveling on metal, such as aluminum, is about five (5) times the speed of ultrasound waves traveling on a patient's skin, the metal connector rod 130 can be considered to be rigid as compared to the patient's skin. This is also the case with respect to the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100 that is connected to the connector rod 130, which can also be considered to be rigid with respect to the patient's skin. Due to the holes provided along the connector rod 130 and along the outer surface of the semisphere portion 110, the connector rod/semisphere structure has a mass weight less than the mass weight of the skin that it is to drive with transverse ultrasound vibrations. This provides an optimal way to apply transverse ultrasound vibrations to the patient's skin, so as to achieve a good effect for damaging and/or destroying adipose cells under the patient's skin (e.g., between 2 to 40 mm under the dermis of the skin). The holes provided on the outer surface of the semisphere portion 110 may be in the range of from 0.01 to 0.1 mm, so that they do not cause any discomfort when the semisphere portion 110 is slid over a portion of the patient's skin to be treated by way of the probe 100.
Due to the semisphere portion 110 having a radius of 20 mm in some embodiments, the first 20 mm under the patient's skin are subject to the transverse ultrasound vibrations as the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100 is pressed against the patient's skin 400, as shown in
In other embodiments, the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100 has a different size, such as between 15 mm to 25 mm, whereby similar positive effects by damaging and destroying adipocytes under the skin surface are obtained for such structures.
By having a smooth shaped semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100 that is in direct contact with a skin surface to the treated, a good massaging effect can be obtained to the patient at the same time adipose cells are damaged and destroyed beneath the patient's skin. This dual benefit provides for a pleasant treatment experience for removing fat cells underneath a patient's skin. In some embodiments, an oil-based gel or other type of lubricating gel may be applied to the semisphere portion outer surface, to enhance the massaging effect when the semisphere portion is slid across the patient's skin. For example, in some embodiments, a gel-holding region within the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100 may be included in some embodiments, whereby gel is output from the gel-holding region and through holes on the exterior housing of the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100, and thereby onto the patient's skin, to enhance the movement of the semisphere portion 110 of the probe on the patient's skin during treatment of the patient. Actuation of a trigger (not shown in the drawings) on the probe 100 by a user of the probe 100 causes expelling of the gel from the gel-holding region, through the holes of the semisphere portion 110 of the probe 100, and thereby onto the patient's skin.
In some embodiments, the probe 100 has its own power supply (not shown in the drawings), such as a battery pack, and in other embodiments, the probe is configured to have an electrical cord that can be connected to an electrical output, to provide the necessary power to the components within the probe 100.
In some embodiments, the transverse ultrasound vibrations are provided in pulses of energy to the patient's skin, such as at a 20% duty cycle. Thus, for an output power of 20-35 watts/cm2 output by the ultrasound transducer, the average power applied to the patient's skin at a 20-50% duty cycle is about 1-7 watts/cm2, thereby providing a power flux to the patient's skin of 1-7 watts/cm2, which does not cause much if any discomfort to the patient during treatment of the patient's skin.
In some embodiments, the ultrasound frequency of the transverse ultrasound vibrations is 32 kHz, and in other embodiments the ultrasound frequency of the transverse ultrasound vibrations is a frequency in the range of from 20-60 kHz.
Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results.
This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 14/739,040, filed on Jun. 15, 2015, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DAMAGING OR DESTROYING ADIPOCYTES”, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14739040 | Jun 2015 | US |
Child | 15837821 | US |