Spectroscopic Diagnostic Apparatus as an Aid for Laser Tattoo Removal

Abstract

A spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus is disclosed as an aid for laser tattoo removal. The apparatus performs spectroscopic analysis of the tattooed skin before or during laser treatment, which provides composition information of the tattoo pigments and photometric information of the skin for optimizing laser treatment protocols automatically or manually. It also provides a simulated treatment result for the selected laser types.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which together with the detailed description below are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to further illustrate various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the spectroscopic tattoo diagnostic apparatus.

Claims

1. A spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus as an aid for laser based skin pigmentation removal, the spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus, either used as a stand-alone device or integrated into the pigmentation removal system, comprising: a spectroscopic component to perform spectroscopic analysis and generate spectroscopic data of the pigmented skin; anda computer component to identify the composition of the pigments and estimate the absorption rate of the pigmented skin for different laser wavelengths based on the spectroscopic data acquired by the spectroscopic component, and to provide a set of parameters for optimizing the laser treatment procedure as well as to provide a simulated laser treatment result.

2. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the skin pigmentation is either artificially induced or naturally developed.

3. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters of the laser include but are not limited to wavelength, pulse energy, peak power, duty cycle, and repetition rate.

4. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spectroscopic component measures the Raman scattering spectrum of the pigmented skin.

5. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the spectroscopic component utilizes the pigmentation removal laser as its Raman excitation light source.

6. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the spectroscopic component utilizes an additional laser as its Raman excitation light source.

7. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spectroscopic component measures the diffuse-reflectance spectrum of the pigmented skin.

8. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spectroscopic component measures the fluorescence spectrum of the pigmented skin.

9. The spectroscopic diagnostic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spectroscopic analysis is performed in visible and/or near infrared wavelengths.

10. A method for controlling and optimizing laser based skin pigmentation removal procedure, the method comprising the steps of: performing spectroscopic analysis and generating spectroscopic data of the pigmented skin with a spectroscopic component;identifying the composition of the pigments and estimating the absorption rate of the pigmented skin for different laser wavelengths based on the spectroscopic data acquired by the spectroscopic component; andcontrolling and optimizing a set of parameters of the laser treatment procedure and providing a simulated laser treatment result based on the identified composition of the pigments and the estimated absorption rate of the pigmented skin.