Cooling device having a plurality of controllable cooling elements to provide a predetermined cooling profile
First Claim
1. A cooling device for removing heat from subcutaneous lipid-rich cells of a subject having skin, said device comprising:
- a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is configured to face the subject'"'"'s skin;
an inlet port configured to be coupled to a supply line;
an outlet port configured to be coupled to an output line; and
a plurality of cooling elements positioned along a flow path between the inlet and outlet ports such that liquid from the inlet port flows through the cooling elements, each cooling element having a thermoelectric cooler, an interface member and an internal fluid chamber in thermal communication with interface members and a plurality of fluid ports in fluid communication with the internal fluid chamber, wherein the fluid ports are configured to allow liquid circulation through the internal fluid chamber, wherein the interface members have heat exchanging surfaces and wherein the plurality of cooling elements are attached to the substrate such that the heat exchanging surfaces of the interface members from a portion of the first surface of the substrate and the thermoelectric coolers are within the substrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cooling device for removing heat from subcutaneous lipid-rich cells of a subject having skin is provided. The cooling device includes a plurality of cooling elements movable relative to each other to conform to the contour'"'"'s of the subject'"'"'s skin. The cooling elements have a plurality of controllable thermoelectric coolers. The cooling elements can be controlled to provide a time-varying cooling profile in a predetermined sequence, can be controlled to provide a spatial cooling profile in a selected pattern, or can be adjusted to maintain constant process parameters, or can be controlled to provide a combination thereof.
364 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A cooling device for removing heat from subcutaneous lipid-rich cells of a subject having skin, said device comprising:
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a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is configured to face the subject'"'"'s skin; an inlet port configured to be coupled to a supply line; an outlet port configured to be coupled to an output line; and a plurality of cooling elements positioned along a flow path between the inlet and outlet ports such that liquid from the inlet port flows through the cooling elements, each cooling element having a thermoelectric cooler, an interface member and an internal fluid chamber in thermal communication with interface members and a plurality of fluid ports in fluid communication with the internal fluid chamber, wherein the fluid ports are configured to allow liquid circulation through the internal fluid chamber, wherein the interface members have heat exchanging surfaces and wherein the plurality of cooling elements are attached to the substrate such that the heat exchanging surfaces of the interface members from a portion of the first surface of the substrate and the thermoelectric coolers are within the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A cooling device for removing heat from subcutaneous lipid-rich cells of a subject having skin, the cooling device comprising:
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a plurality of cooling elements rotatable relative to each other, each cooling element including a thermoelectric cooler, and an internal fluid chamber configured to hold liquid coolant in thermal communication with the thermoelectric cooler; an inlet port configured to be coupled to a supply line such that liquid coolant from the supply line flows into and through the internal fluid chambers; an outlet port configured to be coupled to an output line such that liquid coolant that has passed through the internal fluid chambers flows through the outlet port and into the output line; a processing unit programmed to cause the cooling elements to operate to cool the subcutaneous lipid-rich cells of the subject to a sufficiently low temperature so as to selectively disrupt the subcutaneous lipid-rich cells; and a flexible substrate coupled to the cooling elements, wherein the flexible substrate is configured to face the subject'"'"'s skin such that the plurality of cooling elements are in thermal communication with the subcutaneous lipid-rich cells. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification