Removal of stratum corneum by means of light
First Claim
1. A method for forming an opening in the surface of the skin of a patient comprising the steps of:
- (1) projecting at least one pulse of light, driven at a level of energy that is not sufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, onto the surface of the skin of the patient;
(2) collecting at least a portion of the light that is reflected from the skin of the patient;
(3) projecting the collected, reflected light onto a detector to provide a signal;
(4) adjusting the projection of the pulsed light onto the surface of the skin of the patient in such a manner that the signal projected onto the detector is optimized;
(5) projecting at least one pulse of light onto the surface of the skin of the patient, wherein said pulse of light is driven at a level of energy that is sufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, whereby formation of an opening in the skin occurs, said at least one pulse of light in step (1) and said at least one pulse of light in step (5) being provided by the same source of light.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention involves a method for focusing light comprising the steps of: projecting at least one pulse of light onto the surface of the skin of a patient; collecting at least a portion of the light that is reflected from the skin of the patient; projecting the collected, reflected light onto a detector; and adjusting the projection of the pulsed light onto the surface of the skin of the patient in such a manner that the signal projected onto the detector is optimized. When the light pulse is properly focused, e.g., when it is characterized by the best focus, it can be used to provide energy to form an opening in the skin of the patient. When more than one pulse of light is required to form an opening in the skin of the patient, aligning the light prior to each pulse will improve the efficiency of formation of the opening. In general, the method for aligning and focussing is the same as the method for focusing, with the difference being that aligning further includes steps for moving the spot of light formed by the light so that it strikes the surface of the skin at or near the position on the surface of the skin of the patient at which the previous spot of light struck the skin.
-
Citations
26 Claims
-
1. A method for forming an opening in the surface of the skin of a patient comprising the steps of:
-
(1) projecting at least one pulse of light, driven at a level of energy that is not sufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, onto the surface of the skin of the patient;
(2) collecting at least a portion of the light that is reflected from the skin of the patient;
(3) projecting the collected, reflected light onto a detector to provide a signal;
(4) adjusting the projection of the pulsed light onto the surface of the skin of the patient in such a manner that the signal projected onto the detector is optimized;
(5) projecting at least one pulse of light onto the surface of the skin of the patient, wherein said pulse of light is driven at a level of energy that is sufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, whereby formation of an opening in the skin occurs, said at least one pulse of light in step (1) and said at least one pulse of light in step (5) being provided by the same source of light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method for forming an opening in the surface of the skin of a patient comprising the steps of:
-
(1) causing a pulsed beam of light, driven at a level of energy that is insufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, to pass through a lens to project a spot on the surface of the skin of the patient;
(2) causing light that is reflected from the surface of the skin to pass through a lens to project a spot on a target on a detector to provide a signal;
(3) moving the lens that projected a spot on the surface of the skin of a patient in such a direction that the quantity of the light reflected from the surface of the skin of the patient and projected on the target on the surface of the detector provides a signal that indicates the best alignment; and
(4) causing a pulsed beam of light, driven at a level of energy at which an opening in the skin can be formed, to pass through a lens to project a spot on the surface of the skin of the patient, whereby formation of an opening in the skin occurs, said pulsed beam of light in step (1) and said pulsed beam of light in step (4) being provided by the same source of light. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method for forming an opening in the surface of the skin of a patient comprising the steps of:
-
(1) causing a pulsed beam of light, driven at a level of energy that is insufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, to pass through a lens to project a spot on the surface of the skin of the patient;
(2) causing light that is reflected from the surface of the skin to pass through a lens to project a spot on a target on a detector to provide a signal;
(3) moving the lens that projected a spot on the surface of the skin of a patient in such a direction that the quantity of the light reflected from the surface of the skin of the patient and projected on the target on the surface of the detector provides a signal that indicates the best focus; and
(4) causing a pulsed beam of light, driven at a level of energy at which an opening in the skin can be formed, to pass through a lens to project a spot on the surface of the skin of the patient, whereby formation of an opening in the skin occurs, said pulsed beam of light in step (1) and said pulsed beam of light in step (4) being provided by the same source of light. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method for forming an opening in the surface of the skin of a patient comprising the steps of:
-
(1) causing a pulsed beam of light, driven at a level of energy that is insufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, to pass through a lens to project a spot on the surface of the skin of a patient;
(2) causing light that is reflected from the surface of the skin of the patient to pass through a lens to project a spot on a target on the surface of a detector to provide a signal;
(3) moving the lens that projected the spot on the surface of the skin of the patient in such a direction that the quantity of the light reflected from the surface of the skin of the patient and projected on the target on the surface of the detector provides a signal that indicates the best alignment;
(4) moving the lens that projected the spot on the surface of the skin of the patient axially in such a direction that the quantity of the light reflected from the surface of the skin of the patient and projected on the target on the detector provides a signal that indicates the best focus; and
(5) causing a pulsed beam of light, driven at a level of energy that is sufficient to form an opening in the skin of the patient, to pass through a lens to project a spot on the surface of the skin of the patient, whereby formation of an opening in the skin occurs, said pulsed beam of light in step (1) and said pulsed beam of light in step (5) being provided by the same source of light. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
Specification