Peter A Levay, 54Austin, TX

5123903, Jun 23, 1992

Feb 7, 1991

7/652452

Joel K. Quaid - Santa Barbara CA
Peter LeVay - Santa Barbara CA

Medical Products Development, Inc. - Santa Barbara CA

A61B 1720

604 22

A disposable aspiration sleeve for use with an ultrasonic handpiece, which ultrasonic handpiece includes an ultrasonic horn wherein the cylindrical aspiration sleeve, which is provided with a vacuum tube coupling nipple, is removably mounted at its base to the handpiece and is provided with a supporting mount or mounts on its interior surface positioned in such a manner that the supportive mount or mounts each touches the horn at a vibratory node, thereby acoustically isolating the interior wall portion of the cylindrical sleeve from the ultrasonic horn or tip member. The addition of an aspiration sleeve with supporting mount or mounts positioned to rest upon the ultrasonic horn at one or more vibrational nodes enables the use of inexpensive plastic for construction, provides the necessary acoustical isolation for maximization of energy transfer to the tip of the ultrasonic horn, prevents transmission of ultrasonic energy from the horn to surrounding tissue, and creates an annular conduit between the sleeve and the horn for tissue aspiration which cannot be occluded by the sleeve touching the ultrasonic horn.

6208903, Mar 27, 2001

Jun 23, 1998

9/107908

William F. Richards - Tuscon AZ
Peter LeVay - Santa Barbara CA

Medical Contouring Corporation - Henderson NV

A61N5/02

607101

An apparatus and method for non-invasive removal of target tissues is disclosed. The apparatus includes a microwave applicator antenna element array for introducing a plurality of cylindrical, quasi-transverse electromagnetic surface waves adjacent the target tissue. The applicator is used for reducing fatty tissue within a subcutaneous fatty layer by taking into account the differing dielectric constants of the adjacent skin and muscle layers. A cooling bolus, made of water equivalent ceramic material, actively maintains skin surface temperature below a level at which cell damage or discomfort would occur. A control system for the applicator comprises a software driven digital computer including a program for choosing antenna array excitations. The control system further includes a phase shifting circuit including a compensating network for reducing the variation in insertion loss with phase shift. A monopole-like microstrip antenna element having a plurality of shorting pins is also disclosed for adjusting the resonant frequency and input impedance of the antenna elements.

5769879, Jun 23, 1998

Jun 7, 1995

8/480620

William F. Richards - Tuscon AZ
Peter LeVay - Santa Barbara CA

Medical Contouring Corporation - Henderson NV

A61N 502

607101

An apparatus and method for non-invasive removal of target tissues is disclosed. The apparatus includes a microwave applicator antenna element array for introducing a plurality of cylindrical, quasi-transverse electromagnetic surface waves adjacent the target tissue. Through successive phase shifts, the electromagnetic surface waves are brought to converge on a focal point within the target tissue, thereby elevating the temperature of the tissue. In one application, the microwave applicator is used for reducing fatty tissue within a subcutaneous fatty layer by taking into account the differing dielectric constants of the adjacent skin and muscle layers. By launching a wave trapped between the skin layer and the muscle layers, a converging cylindrical wave is produced which includes a column of high density along a line extending from the skin-fat interface to the muscle-fat interface. The effect of the column of high density is to raise the temperature of adipose cells to a level at which fat cell necrosis occurs. In operation, a cooling bolus coupled to the applicator actively maintains skin surface temperature below a level at which cell damage or discomfort would occur.