Patent ID: 11963706
Assignee: PACIRA CRYOTECH, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A method for cryogenically treating target tissue for alleviating pain, said method comprising:
providing a cryogenic device having a tissue penetrating needle probe, wherein the tissue penetrating needle probe has a plurality of spaced apart tissue penetrating needles, each of the plurality of spaced apart tissue penetrating needles having a distal portion, a proximal portion, a length less than 5 cm and a diameter in a range from about 0.006 inches to about 0.1 inches, and wherein adjacent needles of the plurality of spaced apart tissue penetrating needles are spaced apart between 0.25 mm and 2 mm;
advancing the distal portion of each of the plurality of spaced apart tissue penetrating needles through a skin surface into the target tissue;
cooling the target tissue below the skin surface with the distal portions of the plurality of spaced apart tissue penetrating needles;
applying a warming energy to collateral tissue near the target tissue, wherein the warming energy is applied along the skin surface with a heater on a surface of the cryogenic device proximal to the distal portions of the plurality of spaced apart tissue penetrating needles to prevent collateral tissue damage by avoiding visible necrosis of dermal tissues of the skin surface; and
remodeling the target tissue such that the remodeled target tissue temporarily alleviates the pain.