Cooling cup applicators with contoured heads and liner assemblies

Abstract

Systems for treating a subject's tissue can include a thermally conductive cup, a sealing member, and/or a liner assembly. The systems can include an applicator capable of being reconfigured for a particular treatment site. Components of the applicator can be replaced to achieve a desired configuration. The replaceable components can include contoured heads, liners, and/or sensors. The applicator can draw a vacuum to install various components and/or draw tissue into the applicator. The applicator can cool and/or heat the tissue to affect targeted tissue.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . An apparatus for treating a subject's tissue, comprising:
 a base unit including a temperature-controlled cup having a conductive surface defining a tissue-receiving cavity with opposing sides and a bottom;   a head removably coupleable to the base unit, the head including
 a contoured mouth defining an opening, 
 a mounting body configured to be coupled to the base unit to position the opening with respect to an entrance of the tissue-receiving cavity; 
   a sealing member being positionable between the mounting body of the head and the base unit to create a vacuum seal therebetween; and   a flexible liner having a patient-contact surface and an adhesive cup-contact surface, wherein the adhesive cup-contact surface has adhesive positioned to adhered to the bottom and the opposing sides of the tissue-receiving cavity.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a liner assembly that includes a liner and the sealing member such that wherein the liner is configured to extend across the entrance of the tissue-receiving cavity when the sealing member is positioned between the base unit and the head, and the liner being configured to be drawn into the tissue-receiving cavity. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the liner is sufficiently deformable to be drawn against regions of the entire conductive surface when the base unit draws a vacuum in the tissue-receiving cavity. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the entire liner is configured to be located within the tissue-receiving cavity when the liner lines the conductive surface. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the base unit includes at least one vacuum port in fluid communication with the tissue-receiving cavity and positioned to draw a vacuum in the tissue-receiving cavity to pull the liner against the conductive surface. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the liner is perforated, the tissue-receiving cavity being shallow enough to allow the subject's tissue to occupy substantially the entire tissue-receiving cavity when the vacuum is drawn through the perforated liner. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 a pressurization device in fluid communication with the tissue-receiving cavity via a vacuum port in the base unit; and   a controller programmed to cause the liner to be drawn against the conductive surface and programmed to cause the applicator to hold the tissue in the tissue-receiving cavity using suction provided by the pressurization device while the temperature-controlled cup conductively cools the tissue.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the base unit has a locked configuration for clamping the sealing member between the mounting body and the base unit and an unlocked configuration for releasing the sealing member. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the sealing member hermetically seals the head to the base unit when the sealing member is clamped between the mounting body and the base unit. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising at least one thermal device operable to cool spaced apart sidewalls and a bottom of the temperature-controlled cup to non-invasively cool tissue in the tissue-receiving cavity an amount sufficient to be biologically effective in damaging and/or reducing subcutaneous lipid-rich cells in the tissue. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a communication device in or on the head to communicate to a treatment system what type of head is coupled to the base unit. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a controller programmed to cause a thermal device of the base unit to cool the temperature-controlled cup to non-invasively cool subcutaneous lipid-rich cells to a temperature less than about 0° C., the controller being programmed to control the applicator to cool most of the area of the conductive surface to a temperature less than 0° C. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a vacuum source fluidically coupled to the base unit and operable to draw the tissue to a bottom of the tissue-receiving cavity to bring the tissue into thermal contact with a concave conductive surface at the bottom of the tissue-receiving cavity. 
     
     
         34 . A method for treating a subject's tissue, comprising:
 installing a head and a sealing member on a base unit of a vacuum-cup applicator such that the sealing member is positioned in a trench of the base unit;   rotating latches to pull opposite ends of the head toward the base unit to compress the sealing member between the head and the base unit; and   drawing a vacuum in the tissue-receiving cavity to draw the tissue against a conductive surface of a temperature-controlled cup of the base unit while the latches pull the head to maintain a vacuum seal between the sealing member and the base unit.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein a flexible liner assembly extends across an entrance of the tissue-receiving cavity of the vacuum-cup applicator, and the method further comprising:
 adhering the liner assembly to the conductive surface, then perforating the liner assembly to establish fluid communication between at least one vacuum port of the vacuum-cup applicator and the tissue-receiving cavity,   drawing the subject's tissue through a contoured mouth of the head, through the tissue-receiving cavity, and into thermal contact with the conductive surface; and   conductively extracting heat from the tissue via the conductive surface to cool the tissue an amount sufficient to be biologically effective in selectively damaging and/or reducing subcutaneous lipid-rich cells.   
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , further comprising drawing tissue into the tissue-receiving cavity such that substantially all of the skin surface of the subject's tissue within the tissue-receiving cavity overlays the conductive surface. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein at least 95% of the surface area of the skin surface in the tissue-receiving cavity overlays the conductive surface.