PL227973B1 - Support system for performing minimally invasive treatments in aesthetic medicine - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the invention is a system supporting the performance of minimally invasive aesthetic medicine treatments, characterized by the fact that it contains a laser head (2) in which a miniature camera (1) operating in visible light is placed, connected via cables (3) to the skin image analyzer. and a microprocessor (4) equipped with software, which controls the laser via wires (5), releasing subsequent doses of radiation.

Description

The subject of the invention is a system supporting the performance of minimally invasive treatments in the field of aesthetic medicine.

The aesthetic medicine services market is one of the most dynamically developing industrial sectors in the world. Treatments in the field of low-invasive aesthetic medicine are becoming especially popular. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in the United States, in 2010, 11.6 million low-invasive procedures were performed, with an estimated value of $ 10.1 billion. Taking into account the change in the demographic structure of the population in developing and developed countries, this trend of increasing the popularity of treatments in the field of low-invasive aesthetic medicine will gain even more dynamics.

Thanks to the development of medical equipment, it is possible to obtain satisfactory results of aesthetic treatments along with an increase in their effectiveness, with relatively low invasiveness, which translates into a reduction in the necessary time of postoperative convalescence. The slight invasiveness of aesthetic treatments, limiting the side effects and side effects of the treatments with satisfactory effectiveness is only possible with the optimal selection of the parameters of the treatments.

Most minimally invasive treatments in the field of aesthetic medicine are performed with ablative or non-ablative lasers, fractional lasers and radio waves. The selection of parameters and device settings is performed by specialist (medical) personnel. In any case, however, these procedures are performed by medical personnel in a manual (manual) manner. Manual procedures are performed by sequentially applying the head of the device to the skin. The area of operation of the head of the device covers several to several dozen square millimeters and has a square or round shape.

In this area, depending on the complexity of the algorithm, type and strength of the treatment, the skin receives a specific dose of radiation. Then the operator moves the head to the next place in order to fully cover the treatment area. As the entire procedure takes a few minutes and the skin's reaction time to the treatment is relatively slow, the adjacent areas are selected very roughly and imprecisely. The operator does not have any additional indicators as to whether a specific area of the skin has already received a radiation dose or not. As a consequence, this results in overlapping areas (double, triple doses) or inadvertently avoiding certain areas of the skin (this is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, which shows overlapping square laser areas as well as gap-free areas). The sites that received the radiation dose are not visible to the operator in visible light, and the typical structure of the skin makes it very difficult to remember the treated areas. Therefore, there was a need to create a solution that would reduce the above-mentioned inconveniences to a minimum.

Laser devices are known from the prior art, including numerous patent descriptions, such as: US20080208179 (Methods of increasing skin permeability by treatment with electromagnetic radiaton), US20110190746 (Contact laser ablation of tissue) or US20020045811 (Laser Ablation process and apparatus ). Most of them allow the use of various types of heads, such as the handle-shaped heads disclosed in the descriptions: US20030036680 (Method and appar atus for thermal ablation of biological tissue using a scanning laser beam with real-time video monitoring and monitoring of therapeutic treatment parameters) and US7473251 (Methods for creating tissue effect utilizing electromagnetic energy and a reverse thermal gradient), or in the shape of a long optical fiber (waveguide) disclosed for example in US7163534 (Laser based maze procedure for atrial fibrillation), US7137977 (Atraumatic laser tip for atrial fibrillation treatment), US7267674 (Apparatus and metod for laser treatment) or US20110190746 (Contact laser ablation of tissue). There are also known different types of laser drivers, disclosed, for example, in the descriptions: US6451009 (OCDR Guidem laser ablation device), and also described many times in patents in the field of skin epilation devices, for example US6280438 (Method and apparatus for electromagnetic tr eatment of the skin). , including hair depilation). These heads and the drivers cooperating with them use the new idea of skin irradiation presented, for example, in the description of US7418169 (Apparatus for controlling at least one of at least two selections of at least one fiber) or using specialized lenses known from the description of US20040102764 (Laser ablation). Various methods of producing cutter tips in contact with the skin are also known, such as US6517888 (Method for manufacturing a medical device having a coated portion by laser ablation). None of the known ones, however

In the case of solutions, the head does not have devices monitoring their operation and does not allow for effective verification of the irradiated areas. An example of combining laser treatment procedures with the image obtained in visible light is the solution disclosed in US6165170 (Laser dermablator and dermablation), where the camera and the laser are placed at a significant distance from the patient, the camera is not placed in the laser head and only allows you to monitor area of the patient's body, but it does not allow for controlling the release of subsequent doses of radiation. There is also a solution disclosed in US7220254 (Dermatological treatment with visualization), where the CCD camera is located in the handle of the laser head, but it is only used to analyze the wrinkles on the skin, but it does not allow for tracking individual areas of the skin and controlling the release of subsequent doses of radiation.

From the patent application WO 2000071045A1 (Laser for skin treatment) a laser for skin treatments is known, which is a typical laser system without eye protection and without the skin position tracking function. This solution does not have advanced health and safety systems and does not protect the patient from administering a double dose in the same place.

Feedback solutions have also been described where information is returned to a laser controller, e.g. US20060084957 (Laser ablation methods and apparatus having a feedback loop and control unit). Regardless of the above-mentioned solutions, there are also known methods of acquiring an image from objects (faces), such as the solution disclosed in US7809226 (Imaging system and related techniques).

Also from the patent description US 5,860,967 (Dermatological laser treatment system with electronic visualization of the area being treated) is known a dermatological laser therapy system with electronic visualization of the treatment area, i.e. with a preview of the skin image, but without the possibility of interaction with the dose of radiation or with information whether a given area of the skin has already been treated. The solution is also not equipped with the operator's eyes protection.

However, both laser heads with built-in CCD cameras as well as drivers or simple cameras used in medicine, including dentistry, for example US20080082000 (Medical camera), do not allow for tracking skin areas by analyzing and recognizing its individual areas, and then - on on the basis of the collected information - control of exposure triggering.

The aim of the present inventors was therefore to develop a system analyzing the areas of the skin to be treated and based on the collected information to control the triggering of the laser operation.

The above goal has been achieved by the system according to the invention supporting the performance of minimally invasive procedures in the field of aesthetic medicine, including a laser head and a camera, which is characterized by the fact that a miniature high-resolution camera operating in visible light with an image recording rate of not less than 30 is placed in the laser head. Hz, connected via wires to the skin image that analyzes the image of the skin and a microprocessor equipped with software, which uses wires to control the laser, releasing successive doses of radiation. In addition, the miniature camera is equipped with a global shutter aperture and protection of the matrix against damage caused by laser radiation. The protection is in the form of a shutter covering the matrix when the next radiation dose is released.

Preferably, the microprocessor is incorporated with the camera into the laser head, most preferably the head handle.

Preferably, the system is equipped with a module emitting a sound and / or light signal. This is advantageous because in the case of non-ablative lasers, subsequent doses of laser radiation do not leave any visible traces on the skin. Thus, the operator does not know when the entire treatment area has been homogeneously covered by laser radiation. The sound and / or light signal allows the head to be moved to the next treatment area, ensuring that the treated area has already been successfully covered with subsequent doses of laser radiation.

The system according to the invention enables direct tracking of the skin areas to be treated. This tracking is carried out thanks to the camera placed in the handle of the laser head applied to the treated skin. It is mainly based on the use of image analysis and processing methods, especially textures in visible light. Image analysis is carried out in an external microprocessor located with the camera in the handle of the head, or in a separate, external device / computer, e.g. a computer

PL 227 973 B1 simultaneously to control the operation of the laser. Based on the information obtained from the image analysis, then processed in the microprocessor, the laser triggering control is performed. Triggering can be automatic or manual. In the case of automatic release, the operator moves the head over the treated area of the skin, and the release of subsequent doses of radiation is automatically initiated by the system in such a way that the area undergoing treatment at a given moment adjoins the adjacent area as closely as possible. In the case of manual triggering, the system only informs the operator with an acoustic or light signal that the area in which the head has moved is the area most closely adjacent to the previous one.

The solution according to the invention is a fully automatic system designed to support the work of the laser operator, characterized by the following advantages:

- ensuring the optimal location of administering subsequent doses of radiation to the patient,

- avoiding overlapping of successive doses of radiation, o avoiding free, untreated areas of the skin,

- providing sound or light information about the shift of the laser head to the most adjacent (to the previous) area of the skin,

- fully automatic release of subsequent doses of radiation when the laser head is moved to the appropriate area of the skin,

- the ability to save subsequent areas of the skin to be treated in the database for each patient,

- the ability to remember individual selection of laser power and settings for subsequent areas of the skin,

- the possibility of using the system for any type of laser used in the field of skin aesthetic medicine,

- elimination of the high-risk tracking error and the operator's memory of areas of the skin that have already received a radiation dose.

Summarizing the advantages: with this invention, the role of the operator is only to move the laser head over the area of the skin to be treated. The system will analyze these areas and automatically release subsequent doses of radiation in the best matching and adjacent areas of the skin.

The essence of the invention can be better understood thanks to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a thermal image showing the effect of the laser on the skin of the forehead during manual application, without the use of the invention, while Fig. 2 - a system according to the invention supporting the performance of minimally invasive procedures in the field of aesthetic medicine, in which the individual elements are: camera (1), laser head (2), wires (3) and (5), microprocessor (4).

An exemplary system supporting minimally invasive procedures in the field of aesthetic medicine, consists of a laser head (2) of a CO ₂ CO ₂ RE fractional laser, in which a miniature CCD camera (1) imaging in visible light with a resolution of 520 TVL and a modified LCMTV 8 lens is placed. mm Mini, connected via wires (3) to a microprocessor (4) analyzing the skin image (4) from, for example, the 51 family with an internal memory, which controls the laser by means of wires (5), releasing subsequent doses of radiation. The microprocessor (4) is integrated with the camera (1) in the laser head (2) and is equipped with dedicated software written in assembly language.

The camera (1) is equipped with a CCD matrix protection against damage caused by laser radiation. The protection is in the form of a shutter covering the CCD when the next radiation dose is released.

Claims (3)

1. A system supporting the performance of minimally invasive treatments in the field of aesthetic medicine, including a laser head and a camera, characterized by the fact that the laser head (2) has a high-resolution miniature camera (1) operating in visible light with an image registration rate of not less than 30 Hz, connected via wires (3) to a skin image analyzing image, a processor (4) equipped with the microPL 227 973 Β1 software, which controls the laser by means of wires (5), releasing subsequent doses of radiation, moreover, the miniature camera (1) is equipped with a global diaphragm shutter and protection against damage caused by laser radiation, in the form of a matrix shutter. 2. The system according to p. The process of claim 1, characterized in that the microprocessor (4) is incorporated together with the camera (1) in the laser head (2), most preferably in the handle of the head. 3. The system according to p. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with a module emitting a sound and / or light signal.