A Study to Assess the Adverse Events and Effectiveness of Rapid Acoustic Pulse (RAP) Device for the Appearance of Cellulite in Adult Participants

A Single-Center, Prospective Study to Evaluate the Safety and Effectiveness of Multi-Treatment Regimen With Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc. Rapid Acoustic Pulse (RAP)™ Device for the Improvement in the Appearance of Cellulite

Cellulite is the rippling or dimpling of the skin most commonly located on the thighs and buttocks of women. Its appearance and texture are often likened to that of "cottage cheese" or an orange peel. Rapid Acoustic Pulse (RAP) is an electrohydraulic (EH) device developed to improve the appearance of cellulite through microscopic disruption of the connection between the skin and underlying tissue leading to a reduction in the severity of dimples and ridges. The purpose of this study is to assess adverse events and effectiveness of RAP in adults seeking treatment of cellulite.

RAP is an FDA approved device for the short-term improvement in the appearance of cellulite in the buttocks and thighs. Participants 18-50 years of age seeking treatment of cellulite will be enrolled. Up to 15 participants will be enrolled in the study at 1 site in the United States.

Participants will receive 3 separate cellulite treatment sessions. Each treatment session will consist of RAP treatment delivered to bilateral thigh and/or buttock areas using the same treatment settings for both sides. The study duration is up to 72 weeks.

There may be higher treatment burden for participants in this trial compared to their standard of care. Participants will attend regular visits during the study at a clinic. The effect of the treatment will be checked by medical assessments, checking for side effects and completing questionnaires.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cellulite
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Rapid Acoustic Pulse

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 14
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Pleasanton, California, United States, 94588
      • Innovation Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 50 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants seeking treatment of cellulite in the thigh and/or buttock areas.
• Areas of moderate to severe cellulite on bilateral thigh and/or buttock using the Cellulite Dimple - At Rest Scale at Baseline with grades of 2 or 3 based on review of photos taken under the same lightening conditions planned for the trial.
• Participant will not have had invasive or energy-based cellulite (liposuction, subcision, RF, laser, ESWT, cryo-lipolysis, muscle stimulation, etc.) treatments in the treatment areas in the prior 12 months.
• Participant will not have used topical based cellulite treatments for prior 3 months and will not use during the trial
• Participant will not have used spray-on tanning treatments for 3 months prior to or during the term of the trial.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Metal or plastic implants (vascular stent, or implants in the hips, knees, etc.) in the treatment areas.
• Active electronic implants such as pacemakers, defibrillators
• History of coagulopathy and/or on anticoagulant medication
• Skin disorders (skin infections or rashes, psoriasis, etc.) in the treatment areas.
• Medical disorder that would hinder wound healing or immune response.
• Any surgical procedure in the treatment areas in the prior 3 months or planned during the duration of the study.
• Any other condition/disease/situation which, as deemed by the PI, would preclude participant from safely participating in or completing the study visits or that may confound study results.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Rapid Acoustic Pulse (RAP); Participants will receive 3 separate RAP cellulite treatments sessions.	Device: Rapid Acoustic Pulse; Transdermal Rapid Acoustic Pulse Treatments

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Before and After Side-by-side Photographs Correctly Identified by At Least 2 of 3 Blinded Reviewers From the Independent Physician Reviewer (IPR) Panel	Photographs of the treatment areas were taken at baseline, and at 12-weeks after post-final treatment to determine if the RAP treatment had the effect of improvement in the appearance of cellulite. The photographs were assessed by blinded independent reviewers (IPR) to correctly identify the 12-weeks post-treatment photographs from randomly placed side-by-side comparison of before and after photographs. Reported here is the percentage (%) of images that were correctly identified by at least 2 out of 3 blinded independent reviewers.	Baseline, 12 weeks post-final treatment
Number of Participants With Device-related or Treatment-related: Adverse Events (AEs), Serious AEs (SAEs), Adverse Device Events (ADEs), Serious ADEs (SADEs), Unanticipated AEs or Unanticipated ADEs	An adverse event (AE) was defined as any unfavorable or unintended sign, symptom, or disease that occurred or was reported by the participant to have occurred, or a worsening of a pre-existing condition. A SAE resulted in death, was life threatening, required hospitalization, was a persistent or significant disability/incapacity, a birth defect, or was an event that required medical intervention. An ADE was defined as any AE with a reasonable possibility (definitely, probably, possibly, or remotely related) that the event may have been caused by the study device only.	Week 1 up to 52 weeks post-final treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants With "Agree" or "Strongly Agree" Responses to the Participant Satisfaction Survey in the Improvement in Appearance of Cellulite	The study participant responded to the Participant Satisfaction Survey statement, "In comparison to the pre-treatment photo, the 12 week photograph of the treatment area appears improved." Response choices to this statement were "Strongly Agree", "Agree", "Neutral", "Disagree", and "Strongly Disagree", with "Strongly Agree" representing the greatest perceived improvement in the appearance of cellulite. Reported here is the number of participants who responded with "Agree" or "Strongly Agree." Data are reported for response to photographs on the left and right side of the body.	Baseline, 12 weeks post-final treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Zeltiq Aesthetics
• Investigators: Study Director: Zeltiq Aesthetics, Zeltiq Aesthetics

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 14, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 26, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): July 26, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 15, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 18, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 17, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: RAP; Cellulite; Rapid Acoustic Pulse
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Manifestations; Cellulite
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2021-06

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes