Patent Application
20230210587
The present invention relates to body orifice remodeling using energy devices, mainly radio frequency (RF) energy devices and electromagnetic stimulation (EMagS) energy devices and methods of cosmetically applying such devices to body orifices, including the vagina and the anus.
It is a known phenomenon that, as people age, the muscles in their bodily orifices, but particularly the vagina and the anus, become stretched and lose their tightness. Devices are known in the art which are directed to attempting to reverse this condition and return the tissue to a tighter state of repose.
Some of these devices use RF energy, while others implement heat energy, ultrasound, electrical energy and/or light energy. However, as these particular areas are sensitive, it is desirable that these devices treat the patient but not cause damage to the tissue, pain or discomfort.
Many of these devices are handheld devices in that the doctor or other operator must hold and manipulate the device during the entire treatment process. This can cause fatigue for the doctor or operator. If the device is left in the orifice without holding it in position, it can be pushed out of the orifice wholly or partially such that treatment is impaired or even rendered ineffective.
Another issue with such known devices is the potential appearance of “hot spots” in which one portion of the tissue in the orifice may be overtreated while other portions may be undertreated or even untreated.
Generally, such devices may rely on a single type of energy source rather than combining a number of energy sources that may provide a synergistic treatment regime.
It is also known in the art to treat patients with some form of electromagnetic stimulation (EMagS), particularly treatments designed to treat the vagina, areas around the vagina, or the pelvic or anus muscles. These usually involve some form of chair or platform that the patient sits on and the energy is provided to the general areas described above. One problem with this arrangement is that the whole areas is treated, which may be unnecessary or even ineffective since there with the specific tissue sought to be treated and the source of the energy applied. Because such emitters, usually incorporated in chairs, are necessarily very far distant from the pelvic muscles, with great loss of energy (the loss of energy with respect to the distance of the muscles to be contracted), too obtain satisfactory results a very high magnetic field intensity is required, and this can cause undesirable contractions of other muscles. EMagS is also known as magnetic nerve muscle stimulation and usually employs a pulsed electromagnetic field that employs electromagnetic stimulation using time-varying and high-power magnetic field based on a high value of magnetic flux density and/or high repetition rate.
In the case of the present invention, being very close to the pelvic muscles, a much less intense magnetic field is sufficient, which due to its proximity will be extremely directional.
An example of another known EMagS device is described in US2016/317827, but the device described operates the RF device at high frequencies, such as 13.56 Mhz, 27.12 Mhz or 40.68 Mhz, or 2.45 Ghz, frequencies much higher that those of the present invention (up to 6 Mhz)
The present application remediates this problem by incorporating a source of It is to the improvement of the foregoing shortcoming that the present application is directed.
In an aspect, a body orifice remodeling device includes: a cylindrical handpiece having a defined length which is adapted to be inserted into the body orifice; an elongated monopolar electrode mounted outside on the circumference of the cylindrical handpiece and extending substantially along the length of the handpiece; the monopolar electrode may be of a shape conforming to the cylindrical shaped handpiece; the monopolar electrode may be a capacitive electrode, the electrode further being insulated with biocompatible material; a source of radio frequency (RF) energy may be provided in the handpiece which is configured to generate RF energy to the elongated monopolar electrode; a source of electromagnetic stimulation energy (EMagS) may be provided in the handpiece and is configured to generate (EMagS) energy; further, a controller may be provided which is configured to: (1) cause the source of RF to generate RF energy; (2) cause the source of EMagS energy to generate EMagS energy within the body orifice; and, (3) regulate the application of RF energy and EMagS energy. In the device, the body orifice maybe a vagina.
In another aspect, the controller may be configured to cause the source of RF energy and the source of EMagS energy to be activated one of: simultaneously or sequentially. The controller may be configured to cause the source of RF energy and the source of EMagS energy to be activated simultaneously.
In a further aspect, the device handpiece comprises two sections: a distal section adapted to be inserted into the vagina and a proximal section, the distal section and the proximal section being separable. The distal section is of: a disposable material or a sterilizable material. The proximal section may comprise one or more connections to one or more sources of power to power the source of RF energy and the source of EMagS energy. The distal section may comprise one or more RF electrodes. The one or more electrodes may be embedded in a thermo gel to, when activated, minimize hot spots.
In yet another aspect, the device may further include a garment to retain the handpiece in position in the vagina without the need to hold the handpiece in place during treatment.
In another aspect, the distal section of the handpiece may be curved to match the contours of the human vagina. Further, the interior of the handpiece may be substantially hollow and further comprising a plurality of apertures from the interior of the handpiece through to the outside of the handpiece, further comprising a substance contained within or insertable into the interior of the handpiece which may be pumped from the interior to the exterior of the handpiece during treatment. The substance may include HA. The garment may be in the form of short pants or may be in the form of a belt. The RF energy may be applied preferable at frequencies up to 6 Mhz.
In an aspect, a method of remodeling a body orifice comprises: providing a cylindrical handpiece having a defined length which is adapted to be inserted into the body orifice; providing an elongated monopolar electrode mounted outside on the circumference of the cylindrical handpiece and extending substantially along the length of the handpiece, the monopolar electrode being of a shape conforming to the cylindrical shaped handpiece, the monopolar electrode being a capacitive electrode, the electrode further being insulated with biocompatible material; providing a source of radio frequency (RF) energy in the handpiece which is configured to generate RF energy to the elongated monopolar electrode; further providing a source of electromagnetic stimulation energy (EMagS) in the handpiece which is configured to generate (EMagS) energy; providing a controller, and wherein, in the method, the controller: (1) causes the source of RF to generate RF energy; (2) causes the source of EMagS energy to generate EMagS energy within the body orifice; and, (3) regulates the application of RF energy and EMagS energy. The body orifice may be a vagina.
In another aspect, the controller causes the source of RF energy and the source of EMagS energy to be activated one of: simultaneously or sequentially. The handpiece comprises two sections: a distal section adapted to be inserted into the vagina and a proximal section, the distal section and the proximal section being separable, wherein the distal section is of: a disposable material or a sterilizable material.
As described in the incorporated application, the present invention is directed to a device and method for remodeling body orifices. While the discussion in this specification is directed to vaginal laxity treatments, it is to be understood that the present invention and the specification is applicable to other body orifices, such as the anus.
A number of devices is illustrated and described in the incorporated application. These devices shown in
In
The probe 200 includes a distal end portion 202 and a proximal end portion 204, the distal end port preferably being rounded or at least having a smooth surface to facilitate insertion into the body orifice. The proximal end port 204 may include a connector electrode 206 to facilitate an electrical connection from the outside of the probe to the inner workings within the probe, to be discussed herein. The outside of the cylindrical portion 208 may contain any number of RF electrodes, but shown here is a single monopolar electrode that may extend substantially along the entire cylindrical portion 208. The purpose of this arrangement is so that the entire body cavity may be treated without having to move the probe during treatment.
The monopolar RF electrode may be connected to a source of electrical power and a controller that interfaces the power to the one (or more) RF electrode(s). The RF electrodes may be in many forms: Monopolar, bipolar and multipolar, all of which are generally known electrodes used in patient treatment applications, such as facial treatments to reduce wrinkles and facial lines. The RF electrode preferably operates at frequencies up to 6 Mhz.
The probe may be solid in form, or, as described in the incorporated application, partially or fully hollow. The one or more RF electrodes may be mounted either on the outside of the probe or mounted within the probe, as desired and as described.
Given that a probe of the type contemplated maybe inserted in some very sensitive portions of the body and given that the treatment using RF energy generates heat, it may be important to insure that there are no “hot spots” such that one portion of the probe generates more (or less) heat than another ion.
The present invention resolves the problem by incorporating a thermal gel substance, such as KERATHERM® Thermal Greases available from www.kerafol.com, within a hollow port of the probe if so constructed or in a housing with an RF electrode, depending on whether the RF electrode or electrodes are mounted within the probe or on the outside surface of the probe. When electrical power is supplied to the one or more RF electrodes, the thermal gel will act to “homogenize” the heat output so that hot spots are eliminated or at least substantially minimized.
As mentioned, presently the doctor or other operator will hold the probe in his or her hand while the treatment is being performed. If not held, it has been found that the probe may slip out or be pushed out of the orifice, with the consequent loss or reduction in treatment efficiency. The present invention eliminates this problem by incorporating an apparatus that holds the probe in place. This may be something as simple as a belt which incorporates the probe and hold sit within the body orifice or even “short pants” 300 that incorporate the probe and hold it in place, such as may be seen in
It is known in the art to treat patients with some form of electromagnetic stimulation (EMagS) emitter, particularly treatments designed to treat the vagina, areas around the vagina, or the pelvic or anus muscles. These known devices usually involve some form of chair or platform that the patient sits on and the energy is then provided to the general areas described above. One problem with this arrangement is that the whole area is treated, which may be unnecessary or even ineffective in treating the specific tissue sought to be treated. Because such emitters, usually incorporated in chairs, are necessarily very far distant from the pelvic muscles, with great loss of energy (the loss of energy with respect to the distance of the muscles to be contracted). To obtain satisfactory results, a very high magnetic field intensity is required, and this can cause undesirable contractions of other muscles.
In the present invention, with the probe being very close to the pelvic muscles, a much less intense magnetic field is sufficient, which due to its proximity will be extremely directional.
The present application remediates the problems outlines above by incorporating a source of EMagS energy within or on the probe. In this manner, the EMagS may be applied directly to the tissue sought to be treated. The EMagS energy may be applied in combination with the RF energy, one or before, after or during treatment using the RF electrodes, but preferably simultaneously.
Turning now to
Further, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/970,585, filed Dec. 16, 2015, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COSMETIC TREATMENT OF HUMAN MUCOSAL TISSUE”, and assigned to the common corporate parent entity as the present invention, an electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) device may additionally be combined with a RF treatment device for treating, for example, the vagina, in that the EMS is applied to draw the tissue to contact with the probe such that the RF energy treatment becomes more effective. In fact, all three modalities: RF, EMagS, and EMS may be incorporated in the probe for treatments.
In addition, it may be desirable to inject medicines or other materials into the orifice either before, during or after application of any one or more of RF, EMagS or EMS treatments. This may be accomplished by utilizing the hollow or at least partially hollow portion of the probe to store such material, to add apertures that pass through from the hollow portion to and through the probe outer surface, as may be seen in reference to
While a generally cylindrical probe has been described and shown in
As shown in
It should be pointed out that the distance marking in
A source of electrical power is fed to the proximal end of the probe at 110. The RF electrode 106 may be encased in a casing which is filled or partially filled with thermal gel as described above. A temperature measuring device may be included either outside of the casing, or inside, or both to measure the temperature of the RF electrode. Other temperature measuring devices may be mounted on the outside surface of the probe to measure tissue temperature directly.
The probe 100 may be provided in two separable portions, portion 112 and portion 114. Unlike other of such probes that are unitary in structure and require that the entire device be disposed of or sterilized, the distal portion 112 may be of a disposable material or sterilizable material that can be reused after each patient's treatment. The portion 114 may contain electrical connections, etc. at its proximal end base portion, and may be reusable over and over again and attached to the portion 112. Further, the portion 114, which may be in the shape of a handle, may incorporate a slip ring at its base, proximal end, or a similar known structure, so that as the handle portion 114 is rotated while in position within the patient's body, the cable attached to the proximal end portion will remain stationary, so as to avoid kinking and twisting of the cable.
In addition, the portion 112 may be made in different shapes, diameters and lengths to suit the anatomy of individual patients being treated.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/539,963, filed Aug. 13, 2019, which is related to, claims priority to and is a continuation in part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/410,044, filed Jan. 19, 2017, (hereinafter “the incorporated application”), the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16539963 | Aug 2019 | US |
| Child | 18114461 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15410044 | Jan 2017 | US |
| Child | 16539963 | US |
