Claims
- 1. A method of treating a treatment area of skin with light energy comprising the steps of:
generating pulses of light having pulse width between approximately 0.1 ms to 3 ms, and having time period of greater than 0.1 seconds and less than 15 seconds between pulses; and applying the pulses of light to the treatment area.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating a safety pulse of light at least approximately 300 ms prior to the generating pulses of light.
- 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein the applying of light pulses to the treatment area, includes transmitting the pulses of light through a treatment window, and sensing the presence of a patient's skin at the treatment window prior to generating the pulses of light.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area include light energy in the range of approximately 400 nm to 600 nm.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area include light energy in the range of approximately 400 nm to 1200 nm.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying the pulses of light to the treatment area includes applying in the range of approximately 2 to 60 pulses of light to the treatment area.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area have a fluence of less than approximately 6 J/cm2.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area have a spot size of at least approximately 1 cm2.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area have a fluence in the range of approximately 1-2 J/cm2.
- 10. A treatment device for providing a therapeutic treatment to an area of skin, the device comprising:
a flashlamp for generating pulses of light; a handheld housing with an opening, said flashlamp source being disposed in said housing, and said housing being suitable for being disposed adjacent a skin treatment area; a capacitor disposed in said housing and coupled to the flashlamp; a capacitor charging circuit disposed in said housing and coupled to the capacitor to bring a voltage on the capacitor to a treatment voltage; and a trigger disposed in said housing which causes a gas in the flashlamp to become conductive, and wherein when the trigger is activated, an electrical charge stored in the capacitor is discharged through the flashlamp, whereby the flashlamp generates a pulse of light which is transmitted through the opening and applied to the treatment area.
- 11. The treatment device of claim 10, wherein
the duration of the pulse width of light is determined by the treatment voltage and electrical characteristics of the capacitor and the flashlamp.
- 12. The treatment device of claim 10, further comprising:
a timing circuit which is coupled to the trigger, and which activates the trigger circuit such that the trigger circuit causes the flashlamp to output a series of pulses of light where each pulse of light is separated by more than 0.1 second and less than 15 seconds.
- 13. The treatment device of claim 10, further comprising:
a window coupled to the housing such that a pulse of light transmitted through the opening of the housing is also transmitted through the window.
- 14. The treatment device of claim 10, further comprising:
a window coupled to the housing such that a pulse of light transmitted through the opening of the housing is also transmitted through the window; and a sensing device is mounted to the housing to sense when the skin treatment area is in contact with the window.
- 15. The treatment device of claim 10, wherein the flashlamp includes a glass envelop filled with xenon gas.
- 16. The treatment device of claim 10, wherein the pulse of light includes light in the range of 400-600 nm.
- 17. The treatment device of claim 10, wherein the pulse of light includes light in the range of 400-1200 nm.
- 18. A method of treating a treatment area of skin with light energy comprising the steps of:
generating pulses of light having pulse width between approximately 0.1 ms to 3 ms, and having time period of greater than 0.1 seconds and less than 15 seconds between pulses; applying the pulses of light to the treatment area; wherein the applying the pulses of light to the treatment area, includes transmitting the pulses of light through a treatment window; sensing the presence of a patient's skin at the treatment window prior to generating the pulses of light; wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area includes light energy in the range of approximately 400 nm to 600 nm; wherein the applying the pulses of light to the treatment area includes applying in the range of approximately 2 to 60 pulses of light to the treatment area; and wherein the pulses of light applied to the treatment area have a fluence of less than approximately 6 J/cm2.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/456,848, Mar. 21, 2003, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOW AVERAGE DERMATOLOGIC LIGHT TREATMENT DEVICE, which is incorporated herein by reference. The present application also claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/488,252, Jul. 18, 2003, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOW AVERAGE POWER DERMATOLOGIC LIGHT TREATMENT DEVICE, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60456848 |
Mar 2003 |
US |
|
60488252 |
Jul 2003 |
US |