Clinical Department, Viora, Inc., Jersey City, NJ 07306, USA.
Adv Ther. 2012 Mar;29(3):249-66. doi: 10.1007/s12325-012-0004-1. Epub 2012 Feb 29.
Because of its high efficiency and safety, radiofrequency (RF) energy is widely used in the dermatological field for heating biological tissue in various esthetic applications, including skin tightening, skin lifting, body contouring, and cellulite reduction. This paper reviews the literature on the use of nonablative RF energy in the esthetic field and its scientific background. The purpose of this article is to describe in detail the extensive use of medical devices based on RF technology, the development of these medical devices over the years, and recent developments and trends in RF technology.
The authors conducted a systematic search of publications that address safety and efficacy issues, technical system specifications, and clinical techniques. Finally, the authors focused on their own clinical experiences with the use of patented Channeling Optimized RF Energy technique and mechanical massage. An in-vivo study was conducted in domestic pigs, with a thermal video camera. Twenty-seven female patients participated in a cellulite and body shaping study. The treatments were conducted according to a three-phase protocol. An additional 16 females participated in a skin tightening case study. All of the patients underwent three treatment sessions at 3-week intervals, each according to a protocol specific to the area being treated.
The review of the literature on RF-based systems revealed that these systems are safe, with low risks for potential side effects, and effective for cellulite, body contouring, and skin tightening procedures. The in-vivo measurements confirmed the theory that the penetration depth of RF is an inverse function of its frequency, and using a vacuum mechanism makes an additional contribution to the RF energy penetration. The heating effect of RF was also found to increase blood circulation and to induce collagen remodeling. The results from the cellulite and body shaping treatments showed an overall average improvement of 55% in the appearance of cellulite, with an average circumferential reduction of 3.31 cm in the buttocks, 2.94 cm in the thighs, and 2.14 cm in the abdomen. The results from the skin tightening procedure showed moderate improvement of skin appearance in 50% and significant improvement in 31%. At the follow-up visits the results were found to be sustained without any significant side effects.
Of all tissue heating techniques, RF-based technologies appear to be the most established and clinically proven. The design and specifications of the described vacuumassisted bipolar RF device fall within the range of the specifications currently prescribed for esthetic, nonablative RF systems.
由于射频 (RF) 能量的高效性和安全性，它在皮肤科领域被广泛用于各种美容应用中加热生物组织，包括皮肤紧致、皮肤提升、身体塑形和减少脂肪团。本文综述了非消融性 RF 能量在美容领域的应用及其科学背景。本文的目的是详细描述基于 RF 技术的医疗设备的广泛应用、这些医疗设备多年来的发展以及 RF 技术的最新发展和趋势。
作者对涉及安全性和有效性问题、技术系统规格和临床技术的出版物进行了系统搜索。最后，作者专注于他们自己使用专利 Channeling Optimized RF Energy 技术和机械按摩的临床经验。在国内猪身上进行了一项热视频摄像机的体内研究。27 名女性患者参加了脂肪团和身体塑形研究。根据 3 期方案进行治疗。另外 16 名女性参加了皮肤紧致病例研究。所有患者每 3 周接受 3 次治疗，每次治疗都根据特定区域的方案进行。
对基于 RF 的系统的文献综述表明，这些系统安全，潜在副作用风险低，对脂肪团、身体塑形和皮肤紧致程序有效。体内测量结果证实了 RF 穿透深度是其频率的反函数的理论，并且使用真空机制对 RF 能量穿透做出了额外的贡献。RF 的加热效果还被发现增加了血液循环并诱导胶原蛋白重塑。脂肪团和身体塑形治疗的结果显示，脂肪团外观的整体平均改善率为 55%，臀部的平均周长减少 3.31 厘米，大腿减少 2.94 厘米，腹部减少 2.14 厘米。皮肤紧致程序的结果显示，50%的皮肤外观有中度改善，31%有显著改善。在随访中，结果被发现没有任何明显的副作用且持续存在。
在所有组织加热技术中，基于 RF 的技术似乎是最成熟和临床验证最充分的。所描述的真空辅助双极 RF 设备的设计和规格在目前规定的美容非消融性 RF 系统的规格范围内。
