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US 6,430,446 B1Granted
Apparatus for tissue remodeling
AssigneeThermage, Inc.
InventorEdward W. Knowlton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus to modify a skin surface or a soft tissue structure underlying the skin surface includes a template with a mechanical force application surface and a receiving opening to receive a body structure. The mechanical force application surface is configured to receive the body structure and apply pressure to the soft tissue structure. An energy delivery device is coupled to the template. The energy delivery device is configured to deliver sufficient energy to the template to form a template energy delivery surface.
Claims41
An apparatus for remodeling a tissue structure of a host to adopt a desired shape, the apparatus comprising:
- a template including a mechanical force application surface which adopts the desired shape of the tissue structure and conforms to the skin surface overlaying the tissue structure of the host when an external mechanical force is applied to the template through the mechanical application surface;
- and
- an electromagnetic energy delivery device incorporated into the template for delivering electromagnetic energy to the tissue structure through the skin surface while the mechanical force is being applied to the tissue structure;
- wherein delivering the electromagnetic energy by the apparatus causes the tissue beneath the skin surface to be gradually modified by the combined application of the mechanical force and the electromagnetic energy such that the three-dimensional tissue structure of the host is remodeled to adopt desired shape.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.