Tissue treatment methods

Abstract

Methods are provided herein for affecting a region of a subject's body, comprising exposing the region to a cooling element under conditions effective to cool subcutaneous adipose tissue in said region; and increasing the blood flow rate to the cooled tissue by exposing the tissue to an energy source. Methods are also provided for treating subcutaneous adipose tissue in a region of a subject's body, comprising exposing said region to a cooling element under conditions effective to cool said tissue; and exposing the tissue to an energy source to increase the blood flow rate to the cooled tissue, thereby stimulating reperfusion in, and/or causing an ischemia-reperfusion injury to, the cooled tissue.

1 - 29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . An apparatus for affecting subcutaneous lipid-rich cells in a region of a human subject's body, comprising:
 a cooling element configured to be applied to the subject's skin to cool subcutaneous lipid-rich cells in the region of the subject; and   an energy source comprising one or more of an acoustic energy source and an electromagnetic energy source, wherein the energy source is configured to output energy that travels through the subject's skin to warm tissue cooled by the cooling element and/or to increase blood flow to tissue cooled by the cooling element.   
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 30  wherein the energy source includes the electromagnetic energy source which is configured to output light. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 30  wherein the energy source is configured to deliver capacitively coupled radiofrequency energy to the subject. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 30  wherein the energy source comprises the electromagnetic energy source configured to output electromagnetic energy that passes through the epidermis of the subject to warm the tissue by the cooled by the cooling element. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 30  wherein the energy source is configured to deliver energy to the subject while the energy source is spaced apart from the subject's skin. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , further comprising a coupling gel. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 30  wherein the energy source is configured to output a sufficient amount of energy to cause the blood flow rate to the cooled tissue to increase more rapidly than would occur without the energy from the energy source. 
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , further comprising a controller programmed to cause the energy source to expose the region to the energy after the cooling element cooling has cooled the subcutaneous lipid-rich cells at the region. 
     
     
         38 . An apparatus for affecting lipid-rich cells in a region of a human subject's body, comprising:
 a cooling element configured to be applied to the subject to cool the lipid-rich cells in the region; and   an energy source capable of outputting energy that travels towards the subject and through the subject's skin to heat tissue cooled by the cooling element and/or to increase blood flow to the tissue cooled by the cooling element.   
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 38 , further comprising a coupling gel configured to be positioned between the subject and the cooling element and/or the energy source. 
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 38  wherein the energy source includes an electromagnetic energy source. 
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 40  wherein the electromagnetic energy source is a light source. 
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 40  wherein the electromagnetic energy source is a radiofrequency energy source. 
     
     
         43 . A method for selective reduction of lipid-rich cells in a region of a human subject's body, comprising:
 exposing an epidermal layer in the region to a cooling element to cool subcutaneous lipid-rich cells in the region of the subject; and   exposing tissue cooled by the cooling element to energy from an energy source positioned external to the subject, the energy source is capable of operating independently of the cooling element to increase a rate of blood flow to the cooled tissue and/or to increase a temperature of the cooled tissue, wherein the energy includes one or more of thermal energy, acoustic energy, and electromagnetic energy.   
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43  wherein exposing the cooled tissue to energy includes delivering radiofrequency energy from the energy source to the cooled tissue. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 43  wherein exposing the cooled tissue to energy includes delivering light from the energy source to the cooled tissue. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 43  wherein exposing the cooled tissue to energy includes:
 capacitively coupling the energy source to the subject; and 
 delivering capacitively coupled radiofrequency energy to the subject. 
 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 43  wherein exposing the cooled tissue to energy includes delivering energy from the energy source to the cooled tissue after cooling the tissue to affect lipid-rich cells at the region. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 43 , further comprising stimulating reperfusion by delivering the energy to the cooled tissue so as to cause increased blood flow to the region. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 43  wherein exposing the cooled tissue to the to energy includes delivering the energy from the energy source while the energy source is spaced apart from the subject. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49 , further comprising applying coupling gel to the subject's skin and/or the energy source before delivering the energy from the energy source to the subject. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 43  wherein exposing the cooled tissue to energy includes delivering ultrasound energy from the energy source to the cooled tissue.