Patent ID: 7975702

Claim:
A method for the removal of subcutaneous adipose layers, comprising: creating an entry hole on a patient's skin; subsequently inserting a blunt tip of a hollow cannula through the entry hole into the subcutaneous adipose layers; providing an optical fiber within the cannula, the optical fiber terminating in the vicinity of the blunt tip of the cannula; generating a treatment laser beam, the treatment laser beam being conveyed through the optical fiber and into the adipose layers, the wavelength and energy of the treatment beam being selected to cause rupturing of the adipose cells; moving the cannula through an area of tissue to deliver the treatment laser beam to liquefy the adipose cells; detecting radiation from the surface of the patient's skin above the treatment area, the radiation being indicative of the proximity of the tip of the cannula to the lower dermis of the patient; detecting thermal radiation indicative of the temperature of the patient's skin; moving the cannula in response to the detected thermal radiation; and removing ruptured adipose cells from the subcutaneous adipose layers.