Eye-safe dermatologic treatment apparatus

• US 7,452,356 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2004
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Channel Investments, LLC
• Original Assignee: TRIA Beauty Incorporated (Channel Investments, LLC)
• Inventors: Island, Tobin C., Grove, Robert E., Weckwerth, Mark V.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAY, DAVID M
• Application Number:
  US10/783,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20040167499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,734 Days
• Field of Search: 606 1- 17, 607 88- 93
• US Class Current: 606/9
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/203 applying laser energy to the outside of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00057 Light
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00061 spectrum
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00066 intensity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00172 Pulse trains, bursts, intermittent continuous operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00734 battery operated
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00005 Cooling or heating of the probe or tissue immediately surrounding the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00047 using Peltier effect
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00452 Skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00476 Hair follicles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/2261 with scattering, diffusion or dispersion of light
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/065 for measuring contact or contact pressure

Abstract

A dermatologic treatment apparatus is disclosed which includes one or more housings with at least one housing configured for manipulation in a dermatologic treatment procedure, a light source, and an electrical circuit. The circuit energizes the light source to produce output light pulses. A light path includes an aperture through which eye-safe light pulses are propagated having properties sufficient for providing efficacious treatment. An optical diffuser is disposed along the light path to reduce the integrated radiance to an eye-safe level. The apparatus produces an output fluence not less than 4 J/cm².

Claims

1. A dermatologic treatment apparatus, comprising

a light source providing pulses of light having an output fluence of 4-100J/cm² at a target area of a patient and having sufficient fluence to cause hair removal at the target area;

and

optical apparatus for distributing light from the light source substantially uniformly across an input of a diffuser wherein the diffuser diffuses the light sufficiently to cause the apparatus to be eye-safe during treatment while maintaining sufficient fluence to cause hair removal at the target area of a patient.

2. The dermatologic treatment apparatus of claim 1 wherein the diffuser has substantially the same area as the input.

3. The dermatologic treatment apparatus of claim 1 wherein the diffuser is larger in area than the input.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the light source is divergent.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical apparatus distributes light from the light source across substantially all of the diffuser.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a principal optical axis of light emitted by the light source striking the diffuser is not parallel to the normal of the surface of the diffuser.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the light source comprises one or more laser diode bars.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the light source comprises one or more diode lasers.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more diode lasers includes one or more laser diode bars each comprising multiple laser diode emitters.

10. A dermatologic treatment apparatus comprising

a light source providing coherent light of 4-100 J/cm² at a target area of a human and having sufficient fluence to effect a hair-removal dermatological treatment at the target area;

optical apparatus, having an outlet, that communicates the fluence substantially across the outlet, and

an optical diffuser that diffuses the light so that the light emitted from the apparatus is eye safe during the hair removal dermatological treatment.

11. The dermatologic treatment apparatus of claim 10 wherein the fluence is sufficient that the hair removal is permanent.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the optical diffuser comprises at least one of a group including a transmissive diffuser and a reflective diffuser.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the optical diffuser is a transmissive diffuser and comprises a bulk scattering diffuser medium.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the optical apparatus distributes the light substantially uniformly across the outlet.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the light is primarily within a spectral band of 500 nm to 1100 nm.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the light source includes one or more diode lasers.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the one or more diode lasers includes one or more laser diode bars each comprising multiple laser diode emitters.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a principal optical axis of light emitted from the light source striking the diffuser is not parallel to the normal of the surface of the diffuser.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the light source comprises one or more laser diode bars.

20. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the light source provides pulses of light.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the pulses have a pulse duration between 10 milliseconds and 1 second.

22. A dermatologic treatment apparatus, comprising

a light source comprising a plurality of laser diodes providing a plurality of light pulses with an output fluence of 4-100 J/cm² at a target area on a patient and having sufficient fluence to effect a hair removal dermatological treatment at the target area,

optical apparatus, having an outlet, that communicates the light pulses substantially across the outlet;

an optical diffuser for diffusing the light received from the outlet so that the light pulses emitted from the apparatus are eye safe for the patient during treatment.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the optical diffuser comprises at least one of a group comprising a transmissive diffuser and a reflective diffuser.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the light source is divergent.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the optical apparatus comprises a mixer for distributing light substantially uniformly at the outlet.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein a principal optical axis of light emitted by the light source striking the diffuser is not parallel to the normal of the surface of the diffuser.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the optical diffuser comprises a transmissive bulk diffuser.

28. A dermatologic hair-regrowth-inhibiting apparatus, comprising

a light source comprising one or more laser diodes configured to produce pulses of light in a hair-regrowth-inhibiting procedure wherein the pulses are of sufficient fluence to inhibit hair-regrowth in a target area of a patient;

a mixer, having an outlet, for substantially uniformly distributing light from the light source across the outlet;

a diffuser, disposed to receive light from the outlet, for diffusing the light sufficiently that the pulses of light emitted from an output of the diffuser are eye-safe at all distances while remaining of sufficient fluence to inhibit hair-regrowth in the target area of the patient; and

wherein the majority of the fluence of the light pulses is within a spectral band of 500 nm to 1100 nm, the pulses have a pulse duration between 10 milliseconds and 1 second, and the fluence at the target area is between 4 J/cm² and 100 J/cm².

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the optical diffuser comprises a transmissive bulk diffuser.

30. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the light source is divergent.

31. A dermatologic apparatus for removing hair comprising

a divergent light source comprising a plurality of laser diode bars each comprising a plurality of laser diode emitters and configured to produce pulses of light substantially within the spectral band of 500 nm to 1100 nm to effect hair removal in a target area of a patient, the pulses of light having a fluence at the target area between 4 J/cm² and 100 J/cm² and each pulse having a pulse duration between 10 milliseconds and 1 second,

a mixer, having an outlet, for substantially uniformly distributing the light pulses across the outlet, and

a bulk transmissive diffuser, disposed to receive light from the outlet, for diffusing the light sufficiently that the pulses of light emitted from an output of the diffuser are eye-safe during a hair removal treatment.