This invention relates to methods and systems for treating skin.
Selective thermal treatment of skin irregularities such as treatment of vascular lesions, removal of unwanted hair or improving skin texture is commonly used in aesthetic medicine. In order to be destroyed, the target the must be raised to a temperature of about 70° C. without raising the temperature of the epidermis or dermis to damaging levels. The most popular method of thermal skin treatment is selective photo-thermolysis in which light energy produced by a laser or flash lamp is used. However, in many cases it is not possible to heat the skin irregularity to a temperature necessary for destroying it without heating the surrounding skin to damaging levels. The main problem is that he optical contrast between the skin irregularity and the surrounding skin tissue is often not high enough to obtain a significant difference in temperature between the skin irregularity and the surrounding skin tissue. In these cases, another form of energy should be found to provide selective heating of skin irregularity without damaging the surrounding tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,753 discloses use of the radio-frequency (RF) range of electro-magnetic energy for skin tightening, where RF energy is applied to a pre-cooled skin surface. U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,252 discloses treating hairs to reduce their electrical resistance and then applying RF current.
The present invention is based upon the unexpected finding that pulsed applications of RF energy selectively heats skin irregularities to a temperature that destroys it without raising the surrounding skin temperature to damaging levels.
The present invention thus provides a method and apparatus for dermatological treatment of skin irregularities in which pulsed RF energy is applied, to the skin to beat a skin irregularity. The invention may be used for cosmetic treatment of any complicated skin irregularity such as hair removal, skin rejuvenation, vascular or pigmented lesions, and treatment of collagen abnormalities. The system includes an applicator with one or more electrodes for applying RF currents to the skin. A RF pulse generator is used to apply pulsed RF current to the skin by the electrodes, either directly or through a conductive substance. The frequency of the RF is preferably at least 300 kHz in order to prevent tissue spasms. A RF current pulse may consist of a train of shorter pulses.
Heat generation during the application of the RF is higher near the skin surface. In order to make heating uniform within the skin, the surface is preferably cooled during treatment. The surface may be cooled by applying a cooled substance such as ice or ethanol to the skin or by using a thermoelectric cooler. The skin is preferably hydrated in order in enhance the penetration of the cooling into the deep layers of the skin, as is known in the art. When the skin is externally cooled at the surface, the RF energy can heat the target to a depth of up to a few millimeters.
The RF electrodes may optionally be used to monitor skin impedance during the treatment. Since increasing skin temperature leads to a change in impedance, monitoring the skin impedance allows the temperature distribution in the skin to be followed so that the parameters of the treatment may be determined so as to optimize the treatment. Such parameters may include, for example, the pulse duration of the RF energy, the frequency of the RF energy, the power of the RF energy, the delay time between cooling the skin and the application of the RF energy. The temperature distribution in the skin depends on the delay between the cooling, the application of the RF energies, and the selection of pulse parameters. The temperature distribution within the skin may thus be controlled by controlling the delay between the time the cooling is applied, and the time the RF is applied. A microprocessor may be used for determining the optimal delay time (t) in response to a selected skin temperature profile. This may be calculated as is known in the art, for example, using the equation t=d2/(4A), where d is the cooling depth, which in this case is about equal to the thickness of the epidermis (0.1 mm), and A is the skin diffusivity (about 1.4×10−3 cm2/sec) Alternatively or additionally, the temperature distribution may be controlled by controlling the pulse duration of the RF energy as is known in the art, for example, as disclosed in Ross et al., theoretical considerations in laser hair removal. IN Dermatologic Clinics, W.B. Saunders Company, Volume 17, pages 333-335, 1999.
The invention provides a system for selective thermal treatment of skin irregularities comprising:
The invention further provides a system wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group comprising a pulse duration of the RF energy, a frequency of the RF energy, a power of the RF energy, a delay time between cooling the skin and application of the RF energy.
In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring first to
Using the system shown in
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5318563 | Malis et al. | Jun 1994 | A |
5584863 | Rauch et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
5755753 | Knowlton | May 1998 | A |
5846252 | Mehl, Sr. | Dec 1998 | A |
5865787 | Shapland et al. | Feb 1999 | A |
6156031 | Aita et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
6228081 | Goble | May 2001 | B1 |
6350276 | Knowlton | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6383184 | Sharkey | May 2002 | B1 |
6413255 | Stern | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6416514 | Ein-Gal | Jul 2002 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20030097162 A1 | May 2003 | US |