Tissue resurfacing
First Claim
1. In combination, a disposable assembly for a gas plasma tissue treatment instrument and a generator, the disposable assembly comprising an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet, and having a heat resistant dielectric wall;
- an electrically conductive electric field focussing element which is located inside the conduit; and
means for releasably attaching the disposable assembly to a handpiece for the gas plasma tissue treatment instrument;
wherein the generator unit operates at an operating frequency in the range of 2400-2500 MHz, and the focusing element is not directly connected to the generator and is electromagnetically resonant at a frequency in excess of 300 MHz.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for skin treatment comprises the steps of delivering at least one pulse of radio frequency power to at least one electrode in order to create an electric field; passing gas through the electric field in order to form plasma from the gas; and applying the plasma to the surface of skin. The amount of radio frequency power may be relatively low such that the application of plasma causes denaturation of collagen within the collagen-containing tissue beneath the skin surface, which may promote the generation of new collagen within the collagen-containing tissue.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. In combination, a disposable assembly for a gas plasma tissue treatment instrument and a generator, the disposable assembly comprising an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet, and having a heat resistant dielectric wall;
- an electrically conductive electric field focussing element which is located inside the conduit; and
means for releasably attaching the disposable assembly to a handpiece for the gas plasma tissue treatment instrument;
wherein the generator unit operates at an operating frequency in the range of 2400-2500 MHz, and the focusing element is not directly connected to the generator and is electromagnetically resonant at a frequency in excess of 300 MHz. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
- an electrically conductive electric field focussing element which is located inside the conduit; and
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16. A disposable assembly for a gas plasma tissue treatment instrument comprising:
- an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a heat resistant dielectric wall;
an electrically conductive electric field focussing element which is located inside the conduit and is electromagnetically resonant at a frequency in excess of 300 MHz; and
means for releasably attaching the disposable assembly to a handpiece for the gas plasma tissue treatment instrument, wherein the focussing element comprises one or more sections that are predominately capacitive, and at least one portion that is predominately inductive. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
- an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a heat resistant dielectric wall;
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19. In combination, a handpiece for a gas plasma tissue treatment instrument and a disposable assembly for the handpiece, the handpiece including first and second electrodes;
- the disposable assembly comprising an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a heat resistant dielectric wall, an electrically conductive electric field focussing element located inside the conduit; and
a collar surrounding at least a part of the gas conduit, the collar having mechanical attachment means for releasably connecting the collar to the handpiece, such that when the disposable assembly is attached to the handpiece the first electrode is located inside the conduit, and the second electrode is located adjacent an outer surface of the dielectric wall. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
- the disposable assembly comprising an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a heat resistant dielectric wall, an electrically conductive electric field focussing element located inside the conduit; and
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22. In combination, a disposable assembly for a gas plasma tissue treatment instrument and a generator unit;
- the disposable assembly comprising an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a heat resistant dielectric wall, and an electrically conductive electric field focussing element located inside the conduit;
wherein the generator unit operates at an operating frequency, and the focussing element is not directly connected to the generator but is electromagnetically resonant at the operating frequency. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
- the disposable assembly comprising an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a heat resistant dielectric wall, and an electrically conductive electric field focussing element located inside the conduit;
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28. A disposable assembly for a gas plasma tissue treatment instrument, wherein the assembly comprises:
- an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a longitudinal axis and a heat-resistant dielectric wall; and
an electrically conductive electric field focussing element located inside the conduit and extending longitudinally and spaced from the axis thereby to allow an elongate electrode of the instrument to be located on the axis and overlapping the focussing element without direct connection thereto when the disposable assembly is secured to a body portion of the instrument. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
- an elongate gas conduit extending from a gas inlet to a gas outlet and having a longitudinal axis and a heat-resistant dielectric wall; and
Specification