System and method for providing treatment feedback for a thermal treatment device

Abstract

A system and method for providing treatment feedback for a thermal treatment device (100) is provided. In certain embodiments, a thermal transmitter (120) is configured to apply an amount of thermal energy (104) to a target site (106), the thermal energy having a selected frequency and a selected power level for penetration to a depth beneath the surface of the skin. A thermal imager (140) is also provided, the thermal imager (140) being configured to capture thermal data and thermal images of the target site. The device may further provide a thermal display (160) configured to display the thermal images and thermal data, providing feedback to a user (201).

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A thermal treatment system comprising:
 a pod configured for housing a user's body;   one or more sensors contained within the pod for creating a three dimensional construct of the user to determine fat-bearing areas of the user to target for treatment;   one or more transmitters contained within the pod for treating the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user;   a processor operationally coupled to the one or more sensors and the one or more transmitters, and to a memory configured to store executable programs;   a controller operationally coupled to the processor and the memory, the controller configured to control operation of the one or more sensors and operation of the one or more transmitters.   
     
     
         2 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more transmitters comprise an array of transmitters. 
     
     
         3 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 2  wherein each of the transmitters in the array is independently activated. 
     
     
         4 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 2  wherein at least two of the transmitters in the array are independently movable. 
     
     
         5 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 2  wherein at least two of the transmitters in the array are capable of simultaneously treating more than one of the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         6 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 2  wherein at least two transmitters in the array are capable of sequentially treating more than one of the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         7 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 1  wherein the controller is capable of automatically adjusting the one or more transmitters by utilizing the processor to obtain feedback from the one or more sensors. 
     
     
         8 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 1  wherein the system is automated to treat more than one of the targeted fat bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         9 . The thermal treatment system of  claim 8  wherein the system is automated to simultaneously treat all of the targeted fat bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         10 . The thermal treatment of system of  claim 1  wherein each of the thermal transmitters is at least one of a radiofrequency transmitter, a microwave transmitter, and an infrared transmitter. 
     
     
         11 . A method for applying automated thermal treatment to a user comprising:
 employing one or more sensors to create a three dimensional construct of the user comprising thermal images for determining fat-bearing areas of the user to be targeted for treatment;   determining a treatment protocol for the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user;   treating the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user according to the treatment protocol using one or more thermal transmitters; and   automatically adjusting said at least one or more thermal transmitters based on feedback received from said one or more sensors to achieve a desired degree of fat burning at the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the feedback in the step of automatically adjusting at least one or more thermal transmitters includes feedback comprising thermal images and thermal data obtained from the sensors. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of treating the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user comprises the step of simultaneously treating the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of treating the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user comprises the step of sequentially treating the targeted fat-bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of determining a treatment protocol for the targeted fat-bearing areas comprises the step of utilizing a computer processor to determine the treatment protocol. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of automatically adjusting said at least one or more thermal transmitters comprises the step of utilizing a computer processor to automatically adjust the one or more transmitters based on feedback from the sensors. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the one or more sensors comprise thermal cameras or visible wavelength cameras. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising the step of mechanically moving the transmitters around the user to carry out the treatment protocol. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising the step of mechanically moving the sensors around the user to carry out the treatment protocol. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of employing one or more sensors to create a three dimensional construct of the user further comprises employing an ultrasound imager to provide an ultrasound image for determining fat-bearing areas of the user. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the one or more thermal transmitters transmit at least one of radiofrequency energy, microwave energy, and infrared energy.