Abstract: A cooling handpiece and method for use in therapeutic, cosmetic or aesthetic, diagnostic, exploratory, interventional or other medical procedures, the handpiece for use in conjunction with a controllable energy source such as coherent light, non-coherent light or laser light, ultrasound energy, radio frequency energy and other types of electromagnetic and mechanical energy, the handpiece comprising a main body portion adapted for directing the energy to target tissue, the main body portion further adapted for receiving a removable reservoir containing coolant fluid, the reservoir having an attachment means for releasable attachment of the reservoir to the handpiece, and the handpiece having a controllable valve for delivery of a portion of the coolant fluid to the target tissue.

Abstract: A high energy filament lamp light source, such as a quartz tungsten halogen lamp, operated in a pulsed mode with a high voltage input, creates a particular energy output. Applications of such apparatus and methods include treatment of the dermis and/or sub-epidermal tissues for the purpose of skin recontouring, thermal destruction of hair follicles for the purpose of hair removal, and others, and a method which selectively preheats a subsurface region in targeted tissue to sub-thermal modification threshold values without significant heat damage to surrounding layers prior to further treatment.

Abstract: A laser handpiece apparatus for use in therapeutic procedures employing selective cooling, the apparatus for use in conjunction with a controllable laser source, the apparatus including laser delivery device for controllably delivering a predetermined amount of laser energy to a preselected surface area, a reservoir having a predetermined volume, cryogen liquid contained in the reservoir, and a valve for controllably delivering a portion of the cryogen liquid to the preselected surface area.