Cooling device for removing heat from subcutaneous lipid-rich cells

A cooling system for affecting subcutaneous lipid-rich cells in a fold of tissue of a subject, the cooling system comprising:

• a first cooling element having a first heat exchanging surface, wherein the first cooling element is configured to remove heat from the lipid-rich cells to affect the lipid-rich cells while non-lipid rich cells in skin of the fold of tissue are not substantially affected;
• a second cooling element spaced apart from the first cooling element, the second cooling element having a second heat exchanging surface, wherein the second cooling element is configured to remove heat from the lipid-rich cells to affect the lipid-rich cells while non-lipid rich cells in the skin of the fold of tissue are not substantially affected;
• and
• a holder assembly coupled to the first cooling element and the second cooling element such that at least one of the first and second cooling elements is movable to adjust a relative position between the first and second heat exchanging surfaces to accommodate the fold of tissue located between the first and second cooling elements.

A cooling system comprising:

• a cooling device comprising
• a first cooling element configured to remove heat from lipid-rich cells of a subject to affect the lipid-rich cells;
• a second cooling element configured to remove heat from the lipid-rich cells to affect the lipid-rich cells;
• and
• a holder assembly coupled to the first cooling element and coupled to the second cooling element, wherein the holder assembly allows the first cooling element to move relative to the second cooling element to accommodate a fold of the subject's tissue between the first and second cooling elements;
• and
• a cooling unit coupled to the cooling device and including a processor programmed to cause the cooling device to affect the lipid-rich cells in the fold of tissue while non-lipid rich cells in the subject's skin are not substantially affected.