US005976123A
United States Patent [19] [ii] Patent Number: 5,976,123
Baumgardner et al. [45] Date of Patent: Nov. 2,1999
[73] Assignee: Laser Aesthetics, Inc., Auburn, Calif.
[21] Appl. No.: 08/938,923 [22] Filed: Sep. 26, 1997
Related U.S. Application Data
[63] Continuation-in-part of application No. 08/692,929, Jul. 30, 1996, Pat. No. 5,820,626.
[51] Int. CI.6 A61B 17/38
[52] U.S. CI 606/13
[58] Field of Search 606/9, 10, 11,
606/12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 41, 46, 20, 21, 22
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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3,821,510 6/1974 Muncheryan 606/14
4,376,376 3/1983 Gregory 62/51
4,860,744 8/1989 Johnson et al 606/21
5,020,995 6/1991 Levy 606/15
5,098,428 3/1992 Sandlin et al 606/22
5,344,418 9/1994 Ghaffari 606/9
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Selective cooling of biological tissues: application for thermally mediated procedures Arvari et al, Phys. Med. Biol. 40 (1995) 241-252.
Primary Examiner—-John P. Leubecker
Assistant Examiner—Sonya Harris-Ogugua
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Ray K. Shahani, Esq.
[57] ABSTRACT
A cooling handpiece and method for use in therapeutic, cosmetic or aesthetic, diagnostic, exploratory, interventional or other medical procedures, the handpiece for use in conjunction with a controllable energy source such as coherent light, non-coherent light or laser light, ultrasound energy, radio frequency energy and other types of electromagnetic and mechanical energy, the handpiece comprising a main body portion adapted for directing the energy to target tissue, the main body portion further adapted for receiving a removable reservoir containing coolant fluid, the reservoir having an attachment means for releasable attachment of the reservoir to the handpiece, and the handpiece having a controllable valve for delivery of a portion of the coolant fluid to the target tissue.
44 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
