Patent ID: 8292835

Claim:
A method for non-invasively treating subcutaneous soft-tissue of a human or other mammalian subject, the method comprising: simultaneously directing at least three geometrically focused beams of ultrasonic energy from outside of the subject toward a surface of a skin of the subject, wherein: (i) each said geometrically focused beam of ultrasonic energy has a frequency within a range of 275 kHz to 800 kHz and has an individual focal zone; (ii) at least a portion of each said individual focal zone spatially coincides in a group focal zone located within the soft-tissue within a depth range of from 0.5 centimeter to 10 centimeters below the surface of the skin; and (iii) each said geometrically focused beam is generated from an ultrasonic assembly retained in fixed relation to each other; subjecting volumes of the soft-tissue when located within the group focal zone to the simultaneously directing for a period of time sufficient for the ultrasonic energies of the geometrically focused beams to cause destruction of at least a portion of the soft-tissue within the volumes; and wherein: the geometrically focused ultrasonic energy of each said geometrically focused beam, by itself, is not sufficient to cause the destruction of a portion of the soft-tissue within the volumes when located within the corresponding individual focal zone of said geometrically focused beam during the period of time; and the acoustic assemblies are electrically connected in series to drive the acoustic assemblies in phase at a frequency during the simultaneously directing, whereby the ultrasonic energies of the different acoustic assemblies are additive in the group focal zone to produce a larger concentrated ultrasonic energy in the group focal zone with a larger amplitude of vibration than from each of the acoustic assemblies individually, with the larger concentrated ultrasonic energy being sufficient to cause the destruction of a portion of the soft-tissue within the group focal zone due primarily to positive and negative pressure effects caused by the larger amplitude within the group focal zone.