The invention relates to medical devices and more specifically to such devices for the destruction of adipose tissue.
Various types of devices have been used for treatment of adipose tissue. Most of these methods rely upon the fact that adipose tissue is less durable mechanically than other body tissues such as skin and muscles. The problem is that adipose tissue is located under the skin layer, and energy applied to degrade adipose tissue should preferably reach the adipose tissue without damaging the skin.
One popular method of fat treatment is liposuction, which is based on mechanical disruption of fat with subsequent suction of the resulting debris out of the body. The main disadvantage of this method is its invasive character.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,063 describes a method treating adipose tissue based on thermal destruction of fat by exposing adipose tissue to focused microwave or ultrasound waves. The intensity of the energy is determined so as to selectively destroy fat cells without damaging the skin or deep tissues.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,972 discloses a device for ultrasound irradiation of adipose tissue in which the ultrasound waves are not focused, but the intensity of the waves is chosen for selective lipolysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,482 discloses superposition of ultrasound waves from two or more sources to create a wave having high intensity localized at the adipose tissue to be treated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,141 improves treatment safety with ultrasound by forming the skin surface using suction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,639 discloses destruction of calculi in the kidney using shock waves.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for the treatment of adipose tissue. In accordance with the invention, sonic shock waves are created and focused on a region of subcutaneous fat to be treated. The energy of the shock wave is selected to selectively destroy fat cells without damaging adjacent connective tissue or blood vessels.
Any method for generating shock waves and focusing the waves may be used in accordance with the invention. The focal point should preferably be at a depth of 0.5 to 3 cm below the skin surface, which is the typical depth of subcutaneous the fat layer.
In one embodiment of the invention, a shock wave is created by an electrical discharge through a medium. The medium may be a liquid such as water or a dielectric solid. The wave is focused onto a region of adipose tissue to be treated using a reflector having different acoustic properties than the medium. Other methods for creating shock waves include, but are not limited to, micro-explosions generated by a pulsed focused high intensity laser beam in a gas or liquid, a high rising magnetic field, or by piezoelectric transducers.
Typical structure of a shock wave is shown in
Thus, in one of its aspects, the invention provides a system for treatment of adipose tissue having an applicator comprising;
In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
A metal reflector 209 lines the inside surface of the housing 215. The shock wave originating at the gap 203 propagates away from the gap 203 in all directions through the medium 206. The housing 215 is shaped such that the reflector 209 reflects the sonic wave and focuses it outside the housing 215 on a region 214 to be treated in the fat layer 213. A plastic output window 207 having acoustic properties similar to that of body tissues provides an interface between applicator 201 and the region to be treated 214. The focal point is 0.2 to 3 cm beyond the window 207, so that when the window 207 is applied to the skin surface, the sonic waves are focused at a depth of 0.2 to 3 cm below the skin surface, which coincides with the depth of the subcutaneous adipose tissue. A medium 208 such as a water-based gel such as Vaseline may be use for acoustic coupling between the applicator 201 and the skin 212.
For example, the housing 215 may have a truncated ellipsoidal shape, as shown in
The efficacy of the shock wave treatment may be enhanced by shaping the skin so as to bring the region to be treated 214 closer to the surface. For example, suction may be applied to the skin surface over the region 214 in order cause the skin to form a mound including the region 214.
The length of the gap 203 (i.e. the distance between electrode tips) is preferably not larger than 5 mm. Each shock wave should preferably have an energy between to 0.1 to 2 Joules in order to avoid damage to the skin surface. A sequence of pulse waves having a total energy exceeding 50 Joules should be delivered to the treated zone.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10421938 | Apr 2003 | US |
Child | 12325025 | US |