WO2008049775A1

WO2008049775A1 - An apparatus for medical treatment

Info

Publication number: WO2008049775A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/061132
Authority: WO
Inventors: Franco Missoli
Original assignee: Genesis Elettronica S.R.L.
Priority date: 2006-10-27
Filing date: 2007-10-18
Publication date: 2008-05-02
Also published as: ITRE20060127A1

Abstract

A medical apparatus comprising an emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiation destined to be neared to biological tissues to be treated, comprising means (8) for generating pulsating magnetic fields, the emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiations and the means (8) for generating pulsating magnetic fields being controlled by a processor (6) which regulates functioning thereof.

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT

Technical Field

The invention relates to a medical apparatus for realising photocatalysis and/or magnetic catalysis on biological tissues.

Background Art

The prior art comprises use of photocatalysis treatment for increasing the therapeutic success of the main active ingredients of medications, increasing their energy content.

Each molecular species existing in nature is distinguished by a stable layer of minimum energy known as the fundamental state, and by a succession of unstable excited states, each of which is characterised by a greater quantity of energy with respect to the fundamental state.

The instability of the excited states generally grows with the energy content thereof, so that the high-energy excited states are deactivated very rapidly while the lower-energy excited states have progressively longer lives. The term "excited state" conventionally relates to the lower-energy excited state of a molecular species, which is generally the only state to have a sufficiently long life to manifest apparent effects.

The effects normally vary according to the molecular species under examination, and can be manifested for example in a capacity to emit radiation or to react with some types of substances or of substrates. In particular, it has been found that the molecules of an active ingredient in the excited state typically have the effect of considerably increasing the effectiveness of the active ingredient.

This discovery has found application especially in surface treatments of the skin, both for cosmetic purposes and in treatments, such as for example in the treatment of wrinkles or for the treatment of skin pathologies.

In these applications, the skin is first treated with medications in the form of unguents or gels, or creams which are spread on the zone to be treated. These medications are absorbed by the skin by osmosis and are thereafter subjected to a photocatalytic treatment aimed at exciting the molecules of the active ingredient. The treatment of photocatalysis substantially consists in subjecting the treated zone to electromagnetic radiations able to transmit energy to the molecules of the active ingredient contained in the medication. In particular, the energy of electromagnetic radiation must be the same as the energy difference between the fundamental state and the excited state of the molecule of the active ingredient. Since however the electromagnetic radiation energy depends in general on the wave-length of the radiation itself, the excitation of each single active ingredient can occur only through a radiation having a predetermined characteristic wave-length. In the field of surface treatment of the skin, electromagnetic radiations are generally used, which radiations vary from those in the ultraviolet field to those in the infrared field, comprising the field of visible light. The most used medications in the application of these treatments are normally based on malvidin and lycopene. Malvidin is excited by an electromagnetic radiation having a wave-length of about 400 nm, while lycopene is excited by an electromagnetic radiation having a wave-length of about 800 nm.

Photocatalysis treatment can be administered via an operating head provided with an emitter of electromagnetic radiations, which is rested on the skin at the location of the tissues to be treated, and can be moved about a zone around the point of application.

A first drawback of the prior art consists in the fact that, with the apparatus of known type, in order to have relevant results from photocatalysis treatment, numerous and long therapeutic sittings are required, and this very often discourages the user from choosing this type of therapy. A second drawback is due to the fact that with known-type apparatus, penetration of the medications contained in the unguents reaches a depth which is generally not greater than 3mm below the skin surface, limiting the use of this therapy to tissue close to the cutaneous skin. The aim of the present invention is to obviate the drawbacks in the prior art by providing a simple and rational solution. A second aim of the invention is to make available an apparatus which can be used directly by the user without any need for professional operators. The invention attains these aims thanks to a medical apparatus as described in claim 1. Disclosure of Invention In particular, the invention makes available a medical apparatus comprising an emitter of electromagnetic radiations and means for generating pulsating magnetic fields. The operation of the emitter of electromagnetic radiations and the means for generating pulsating magnetic fields is managed by a microprocessor according to the pathology to be treated and the active ingredient to be excited.

The means for generating pulsating magnetic fields comprise a generator of pulsating currents and a magnetic transducer which is preferably realised by a coil. The electromagnetic radiation emitter comprises a series of photo-emitters, for example LEDs, which when supplied by an electric circuit emit luminous radiations comprising the wave-lengths required to activate the excited state of the active ingredients of the medications.

The photo-emitters preferably emit electromagnetic radiations having wavelengths comprised within the field of between 100nm and 15000nm, i.e. substantially, visible light, ultraviolet light and infrared light.

The photo-emitters are preferably further associated to a special optic filter comprising a plurality of polarising lenses which polarise the emitted electromagnetic radiations, such as to make the photocatalysis treatment more rapid and effective. For example, the polarising lenses can be Fresnel or Malus lenses. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the generator of pulsating currents is positioned internally of the apparatus, while the magnetic transducer and the electromagnetic radiations emitter are housed internally of an operating head destined to be rested on the patient's skin. It has been advantageously noted that by contemporarily and/or successively and/or alternatively both the electromagnetic radiation emitter and the means for generating pulsating magnetic fields, a considerable improvement in treatment results is obtained.

With similar results, the treatment time is reduced and a penetration of the pharmaceutical products into the tissue to depths of beyond 20mm is obtained.

All of this is mainly due to the fact that the tissue cells are oriented in a direction of the flow lines generated by the pulsating magnetic fields, facilitating penetration of the pharmaceutical products internally of the tissue cells. Therefore, by subjecting the tissue cells to the pulsating magnetic fields and to the light radiations of photocatalysis, before they return into the natural position thereof, penetration is enhanced, as is the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical products into the tissues.

The dependent claims delineate preferred and advantageous embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of the Drawings

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will better emerge from the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the figures of the accompanying figures of the drawings, which illustrate purely by way of non- limiting example two preferred but non-exclusive embodiments: figure 1 is a schematic view of the apparatus of the invention; figure 2 is a block diagram of the apparatus of the invention; figure 3 is a section view of the operating head the invention is equipped with. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The figures of the drawings illustrate the apparatus 1 , which comprises an external casing 2 on an upper surface of which are located interfacing means 3 which enable a user to operate the apparatus 1 , and which, in the illustrated embodiment, comprise a keyboard 4 and a display 5.

A microprocessor 6 for managing the functions of the apparatus 1 is located internally of the casing 2.

In detail, the microprocessor 6 controls and commands the functioning of an electromagnetic radiation emitter 9 and means 8 for generating pulsating magnetic fields.

In particular, the means 8 for generating pulsating magnetic fields comprise a pulsating current generator 80 and a magnetic transducer 81. In the illustrated embodiment the pulsating current generator 80 is located internally of the casing 2, while the magnetic transducer 81 and the electromagnetic radiation emitter 9 are housed internally of an operating head 11 destined to be placed in contact with the patient's skin. A memory unit 12 is associated to the microprocessor 6, on which memory unit 12 the setting parameters of the apparatus 1 are stored; the setting parameters are set according to the pathology to be treated and the medication used in the treatment of the pathology. In particular, the memory unit 12 can alternatively be incorporated in the microprocessor 6, or, as in the illustrated embodiment, can be associated to a second microprocessor 13 positioned on a removable physical support, such as for example a smart card 14. Generally, however, the memory unit can be realised by means of any device able to memorise data and able to be associated to the microprocessor such as to make the data stored in the microprocessor available.

The apparatus 1 is provided with a reader 15 of the smart card 14; the smart card 14 contains the patient's essential data, the type of treatment the patient must undergo, the type of medication to use, as well as the number of treatments, the frequency, the breadth and forms of waves, both electromagnetic radiations and pulsating currents, for each treatment. The operating head 11 comprises a beaker-shaped body 16, internally of which an electronic card 17 is housed, connected to the microprocessor 6 and aimed at managing the functioning of the pulsating magnetic field transducer 81 and the electromagnetic radiation emitter 9. With reference to figure 3, the magnetic transducer 81 is housed internally of the body 16 and comprises a coil 18 wound on a spool 19 which exhibits a central through-hole 20. The ferromagnetic nucleus of the coil 18 is housed in the hole 20 of the spool 19; the nucleus of the coil 18 comprises a cylindrical permanent magnet 22 provided with a central through-hole 23. The electromagnetic radiation emitter 9 is positioned below the magnetic transducer 81 , at the position of the mouth of the beaker-shaped body 16. In particular, the emitter 9 emits electromagnetic radiations having wave- lengths comprised between 100nm and 15000nm, i.e. substantially visible, ultraviolet and infrared light.

In the illustrated embodiment the electromagnetic radiation emitter 9 comprises a plurality of LEDs 90 which are associated to and supplied by a same printed circuit 91 , which is connected to the electronic card 17 by a connecting cable 24, passing through the hole 23.

The LEDs 90 can be arranged on the printed circuit 91 such as to form a ring, aligned along at least a circumference having a centre thereof on the central axis of the body 16. The LEDs are screened by an optic filter 92, which is located in front of them and is associated to the body 16 such as to close the lower mouth thereof. The optical filter 92 comprises about 1270 Fresnel lenses for polarising the electromagnetic radiations emitted by the LEDs 90, before the radiations reach the tissues to be treated. A cooling fan 25 is located internally of the body 16, which cooling fan 25 expels the heat generated by the coil 18 from the body 16 through the ventilation holes 26 which place the internal volume of the body 16 in communication with the external environment.

Finally, a temperature sensor 27 is connected to the electronic card 17, which temperature sensor 27 reads the temperature inside the body 16. The invention functions as follows: the user inserts the specially-programmed smart card 14 into the reader 15. On insertion of the smart card 14 the processor 6 reads the data relating to the patient as well as all the setting and operating parameters of the apparatus 1. In this way the treatment can advantageously be performed without the presence of a professional operator, inasmuch as once the smart card 14 has been programmed the user does not have to set any of the functioning parameters of the apparatus, but has only to insert the smart card 14 into the reader 15. In particular, the smart card also contains the wave-lengths of the electromagnetic radiations which are to be emitted. According to the treatment the patient is to be subjected to, which as mentioned is stored on the memory of the smart card 14, the processor activates, either in succession or alternatively, the means for generating pulsating magnetic fields and the emitter of electromagnetic radiations 9, for the time set for the treatment.

Claims

1 ). A medical apparatus comprising an emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiation destined to be neared to biological tissues to be treated, wherein it also comprises means (8) for generating pulsating magnetic fields, the emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiations and the means (8) for generating pulsating magnetic fields being controlled by a processor (6) which regulates functioning thereof.

2). The medical apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the means (8) for generating pulsating magnetic fields comprise a generator (80) of pulsating currents and a magnetic transducer (81 ) for translating the pulsating currents into pulsating magnetic fields.

3). The medical apparatus of claim 2, wherein the emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiations and the magnetic transducer (81 ) are housed internally of an operating head (1 1 ). 4). The medical apparatus of claim 1 , wherein electromagnetic radiations have a wave-length comprised between 100nm and 15000nm.

5). The medical apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of photoemitters (90).

6). The medical apparatus of claim 5, wherein the photoemitters (90) are

LEDs. 7). The medical apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiations comprises an optic filter (92) for polarising the emitted radiations.

8). The medical apparatus of claim 7, wherein the optic filter (92) comprises a plurality of polarising lenses. 9). The medical apparatus of claim 8, wherein the polarising lenses are Fresnel lenses or Malus lenses.

10). The medical apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a memory unit (12) is associated to the processor (6), on which memory unit (12) data are stored which are necessary for operation of the emitter (9) of electromagnetic radiations and of the means (8) for generating pulsating magnetic fields, specially set for a particular patient and for a type of treatment to be performed. 11 ). The medical apparatus of claim 10, wherein the memory unit (12) is integrated in the processor.

12). The medical apparatus of claim 10, wherein the memory unit (12) is positioned on a mobile support (14), such as a smart card. 13). The medical apparatus of claim 12, wherein it comprises a reader (15) for reading data memorised on the memory unit (12) located on the mobile support (14).