Systems and methods with interrupt/resume capabilities for treating subcutaneous lipid-rich cells
AssigneeZeltiq Aesthetics, Inc.
InventorJohn W. Allison
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems for removing heat from a subject's subcutaneous lipid-rich regions, such as tissue, organs, cells, and so forth, are described herein. In various embodiments, the system includes a treatment device and a controller for controlling a treatment process. The controller is configured to detect and compensate for an interruption in the treatment process.
Claims21
A system for treating a subcutaneous lipid-rich region of a subject, comprising:
- a treatment device having a cooling plate configured to remove heat from the subcutaneous lipid-rich region of the subject during a treatment process;
- and
- a controller in electrical communication with the treatment device, the controller having a computer-readable medium containing instructions for performing a process comprising:
- performing a treatment process of the subcutaneous lipid-rich region with the treatment device to cool the subcutaneous lipid-rich region;
- detecting an interruption while the treatment device operates to cool the subcutaneous lipid-rich region during the treatment process;
- performing a recovery process in response to the detected interruption;
- returning the subcutaneous lipid-rich region of the subject to a condition generally similar to that at a time of the detected interruption;
- and
- continuing the treatment process to cool the subcutaneous lipid-rich region after performing the recovery process.
A controller useful for treating a subcutaneous lipid-rich region of a subject, the controller having a computer-readable medium containing instructions for performing a process comprising:
- activating a cooling plate to remove heat from the subcutaneous lipid-rich region during a treatment process;
- and
- when the treatment process is interrupted while the cooling plate operates to cool the subcutaneous lipid-rich region, determining a profile for a recovery process to compensate for rewarming of the subcutaneous lipid-rich region of the subject during the interruption.
A system for treating a subcutaneous lipid-rich region of a subject, comprising:
- a treatment device configured to remove heat from the subcutaneous lipid-rich region of the subject during a treatment process;
- and
- a controller in communication with the treatment device and containing instructions for:
- starting a treatment process by removing heat from the subcutaneous lipid-rich region using the treatment device such that the subcutaneous lipid-rich region is substantially maintained within a treatment temperature range at which lipid rich cells in the subcutaneous lipid-rich region are affected;
- detecting an interruption of the treatment process before completion of the treatment process;
- performing a recovery process in response to the detected interruption, the recovery process including cooling the subcutaneous lipid-rich region to return the subcutaneous lipid-rich region to the treatment temperature range;
- and
- resuming the treatment process after performing the recovery process by substantially maintaining the subcutaneous lipid-rich region within the treatment temperature range to affect lipid rich cells in the subcutaneous lipid-rich region.
A system for treating a subcutaneous lipid-rich region of a subject, comprising:
- a treatment device configured to cool the subcutaneous lipid-rich region of the subject;
- and
- a controller in communication with the treatment device and containing instructions for:
- starting a treatment process by cooling the subcutaneous lipid-rich region using the treatment device such that the subcutaneous lipid-rich region is at a therapeutically effective cooled state;
- detecting an interruption of heat transfer between the treatment device and the subject before completion of the treatment process;
- after detecting the interruption, cooling the subcutaneous lipid-rich region such that the subcutaneous lipid-rich region is returned to the therapeutically effective cooled state;
- and
- after returning the subcutaneous lipid-rich region to the therapeutically effective cooled state, continuing the treatment process to substantially maintain the subcutaneous lipid-rich region at the therapeutically effective cooled state to complete the treatment process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.