Systems, methods, and devices for delivering treatment to a skin surface

• US 10,010,704 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2014
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., McKnight, Gary L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moher, Amanda Lauritzen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kinnard, Lisa
• Application Number:
  US14/192,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20150057622A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,587 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 35/25 specially adapted for the application of sunscreen, tanning or self-tanning lotions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices are described for delivering treatment to a skin surface of an individual based on a microbe profile, which include a skin-treatment delivery device including at least one treatment agent reservoir with at least one port with a controllable valve, at least one conduit, a location-capture component, a data storage component to store information associated with the microbe profile, and a computing component including a processor and circuitry to receive information associated with a measured feature of a location on the skin surface, correlate the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface with the stored information associated with the microbe profile, select one or more treatment agents for application to the location on the skin surface from a database of treatment agents, and actuate the controllable valve of the at least one treatment agent reservoir to modulate release of the selected one or more treatment agents.

Claims

1. A skin-treatment delivery device, comprising:

a hand-held housing including

one or more treatment agent reservoirs, each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs including at least one port with a controllable valve, each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs configured to store and controllably release one or more treatment agents;

at least one conduit in fluid communication with the at least one port with the controllable valve and an opening defined by a surface of the hand-held housing;

a data storage component;

a personalized microbe profile stored in the data storage component, the personalized microbe profile including a feature map of a skin surface of an individual overlaid with a two-dimensional spatial distribution of one or more types of microbes at each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual;

a location-capture component including circuitry to measure a feature of a location on the skin surface of the individual; and

a computing component including a processor, the computing component operably coupled to the controllable valve of each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs, the data storage component, and the location-capture component, the computing component including circuitry to

receive information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual from the location-capture component;

map the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual to the feature map associated with the personalized microbe profile to determine which of the one or more types of microbes of the personalized microbe profile is associated with said location;

select at least one of the one or more treatment agents stored in the one or more treatment reservoirs for application to said location on the skin surface of the individual based on which of the one or more types of microbes is associated with said location; and

actuate the controllable valve of at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs to modulate release of the selected at least one of the one or more treatment agents onto said location on the skin surface of the individual.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs comprises a replaceable cartridge.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more treatment agents include at least one of one or more probiotics, one or more prebiotics, one or more antimicrobial agents, or one or more therapeutic agents.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a mixing chamber including a mixing mechanism, the mixing chamber in fluid communication with the at least one conduit.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the location-capture component comprises at least one of an image capture device, a fiducial reader, or an inertial navigation device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the feature map of the skin surface of the individual includes at least one of one or more images of the skin surface of the individual, one or more fiducial markers on the skin surface of the individual, or one or more coordinates overlaid with the two-dimensional distribution of the one or more types of microbes at each of the one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the data storage component includes circuitry to receive the information associated with the personalized microbe profile from a remote source.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the personalized microbe profile comprises at least one of an identity, a quantity, or a relative abundance of at least one of the one or more types of microbes at each of the one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual comprises information associated with at least one of one or more images of the location on the skin surface of the individual, one or more fiducial markers of the location on the skin surface of the individual, or one or more coordinates representative of the location on the skin surface of the individual.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the computing component comprises circuitry to align the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual with features of one or more locations on the feature map of the skin surface of the individual embedded in the personalized microbe profile.

11. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry to alert a user if the selected at least one of the one or more treatment agents is not currently available in the one or more treatment agent reservoirs.

12. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an actuation interface accessible on an outer surface of the hand-held housing, the actuation interface including circuitry to transmit one or more signals to the computing component, the computing component including circuitry to actuate the controllable valve of at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs in response to the one or more signals received from the actuation interface.

13. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an idealized microbe profile including the feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with a two-dimensional spatial distribution of one or more types of microbes ideal for each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual; and

circuitry to

map the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual to the feature map associated with the idealized microbe profile to determine which of the one or more types of microbes of the idealized microbe profile is ideal for said location; and

select at least one of the one or more treatment agents stored in the one or more treatment reservoirs for application to said location on the skin surface of the individual based on which of the one or more types of microbes is ideal for said location.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a signal-generating component operably coupled to the computing component and including circuitry to emit one or more signals in response to receiving one or more signals from the operably coupled computing component.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the signal-generating component is operable to emit the one or more signals to notify a user of a condition.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the computing component includes circuitry to store delivery data, wherein the delivery data includes at least one of a treatment agent, a dose, a location of application to the skin surface of the individual, a time, or a date.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the computing component includes circuitry to convert the delivery data into a personalized treatment map including the feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with a two-dimensional distribution of the one or more treatment agents administered at each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

18. The device of claim 1, further comprising

a microbe capture region configured to capture one or more microbes from one or more regions of the skin surface of the individual;

at least one sensor component including circuitry to detect one or more signals emitted or reflected from the microbe capture region, the one or more signals representative of the captured one or more microbes; and

the microbe capture region and the at least one sensor component operably coupled to the computing component, the computing component including circuitry to

receive information associated with the one or more regions of the skin surface of the individual from the location-capture component;

receive sensor output from the at least one sensor component, the sensor output including information associated with the detected one or more signals emitted or reflected from the microbe capture region;

map the information associated with the location of said one or more regions of the skin surface of the individual to the information associated with the detected one or more signals emitted or reflected from the microbe capture region; and

generate the personalized microbe profile based on the mapping of the information associated with the location of said one or more regions of the skin surface of the individual to the information associated with the detected one or more signals emitted or reflected from the microbe capture region, the personalized microbe profile including the two-dimensional spatial distribution of the one or more types of microbes at each of the one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the computing component includes circuitry to modify selection of at least one of the one or more treatment agents stored in the one or more treatment agent reservoirs in response to a difference between a measured personalized microbe profile and a stored personalized microbe profile.

20. A method of delivering a treatment to a skin surface, comprising:

receiving information associated with a measured feature of a location on the skin surface of an individual from a location-capture component of a skin-treatment delivery device, the skin-treatment delivery device including the location-capture component;

one or more treatment agent reservoirs, each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs including at least one port with a controllable valve, each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs configured to store and controllably release one or more treatment agents;

at least one conduit in fluid communication with the at least one port with the controllable valve and an opening defined by a surface of the skin-treatment delivery device;

a data storage component;

a personalized microbe profile stored in the data storage component, the personalized microbe profile including a feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with a two-dimensional spatial distribution of one or more types of microbes at each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual; and

a computing component including a processor and circuitry, the computing component operably coupled to the location-capture component, the controllable valve of each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs, and the data storage component;

mapping the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual to the feature map associated with the personalized microbe profile to determine which of the one or more types of microbes of the personalized microbe profile is associated with said location on the skin surface of the individual;

selecting at least one of the one or more treatment agents stored in the one or more treatment reservoirs for application to said location on the skin surface of the individual based on which of the one or more types of microbes is associated with said location on the skin surface of the individual; and

actuating the controllable valve of at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs to modulate release of the selected at least one of the one or more treatment agents onto said location on the skin surface of the individual.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving an update to the information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual from the location-capture component in response to moving the skin-treatment delivery device to a new location on the skin surface of the individual.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein mapping the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual to the feature map of the skin surface of the individual associated with the personalized microbe profile comprises aligning the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual with a feature in the feature map embedded in the personalized microbe profile.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

alerting a user if the mapping between the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual and the feature map associated with the personalized microbe profile indicates that the location on the skin surface of the individual is outside a boundary of the personalized microbe profile.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

actuating the controllable valve of at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs in response to a user interacting with a button or switch on the skin-treatment delivery device.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

emitting one or more signals with a signal-generating component of the skin-treatment delivery device to notify a user of a condition.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

emitting the one or more signals with the signal-generating component of the skin-treatment delivery device to notify the user to interact with an actuation component of the skin-treatment delivery device for manual actuation of the controllable valve of at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs.

27. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

recording delivery data to the data storage component of the skin-treatment delivery device, the delivery data including the location on the skin surface of the individual and the one or more treatment agents delivered to said location.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

converting the recorded delivery data into a personalized treatment map including the feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with a two-dimensional distribution of the one or more treatment agents administered at each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

29. A system for delivering a skin treatment, comprising:

one or more location-capture components including circuitry to measure a feature of a location on a skin surface of an individual;

a treatment unit including one or more treatment agent reservoirs, each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs including a controllable valve, each of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs configured to store and controllably release one or more treatment agents;

a personalized microbe profile including a feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with a two-dimensional spatial distribution of one or more types of microbes at each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual;

a data storage component configured to store information associated with the personalized microbe profile; and

a computing device including a processor, the computing device operably coupled to the one or more location-capture components, the treatment unit, and the data storage component, the computing device including

circuitry to

receive information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual from the one or more location-capture components;

map the received information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual to the feature map associated with the personalized microbe profile to determine which of the one or more types of microbes of the personalized microbe profile is associated with said location on the skin surface of the individual;

select at least one of the one or more treatment agents stored in the one or more treatment reservoirs for application to said location on the skin surface of the individual based on which of the one or more types of microbes is associated with said location on the skin surface of the individual; and

actuate the controllable valve of at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs to modulate release of the selected at least one of the one or more treatment agents onto said location on the skin surface of the individual.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the one or more location-capture components comprise at least one of one or more image-capture devices, one or more fiducial readers, or one or more inertial navigation devices.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the treatment unit and the one or more location-capture components are incorporated into a hand-held unit operably coupled to the computing device through a communications link.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the computing device, the treatment unit, and the one or more location-capture components are incorporated into a kiosk.

33. The system of claim 29, wherein the feature map of the skin surface of the individual includes at least one of one or more images of the skin surface of the individual, one or more fiducial markers on the skin surface of the individual, or one or more coordinates overlaid with the two-dimensional spatial distribution of the one or more types of microbes at each of the one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

34. The system of claim 29, wherein the information associated with the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual comprises at least one of one or more images of the location on the skin surface of the individual, one or more fiducial markers of the location on the skin surface of the individual, or one or more coordinates representative of the location on the skin surface of the individual.

35. The system of claim 29, wherein the computing device includes circuitry to align the measured feature of the location on the skin surface of the individual with a feature on the feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with the personalized microbe profile.

36. The system of claim 29, wherein the computing device includes circuitry to actuate the controllable valve of each of two or more treatment agent reservoirs in a treatment pattern.

37. The system of claim 29, wherein the treatment unit and the one or more location-capture components are incorporated into a walk-in enclosure sized to treat the entirety of the skin surface of the individual, the walk-in enclosure including one or more treatment agent reservoirs.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs of the walk-in enclosure comprises an aimable nozzle in fluid communication with the controllable valve of the at least one of the one or more treatment agent reservoirs.

39. The system of claim 29, wherein the computing device includes circuitry to record delivery data.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the computing device includes circuitry to convert the recorded delivery data into a personalized treatment map including the feature map of the skin surface of the individual overlaid with a two-dimensional distribution of the one or more treatment agents administered at each of one or more locations on the skin surface of the individual.

41. The system of claim 29, further comprising:

a motivatable portion attached to the treatment unit, the motivatable portion operably coupled to the computing device and including circuitry to autonomously move the treatment unit over the skin surface of the individual to deliver the one or more treatment agents according to the personalized microbe profile.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein at least one of the one or more location-capture components is attached to the motivatable portion.

43. The system of claim 41, wherein the motivatable portion includes circuitry to autonomously move the treatment unit in a pattern over the skin surface of the individual defined by the personalized microbe profile.