EP0768044B1

EP0768044B1 - Series of hair prostheses for reducing baldness

Info

Publication number: EP0768044B1
Application number: EP96114776A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Cesare Ragazzi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-10-11
Filing date: 1996-09-16
Publication date: 2002-06-19
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-16
Also published as: ITBO950484A1; ITBO950484A0; IT1279653B1; EP0768044A2; EP0768044A3; DE69621892T2; DE69621892D1; ES2176384T3

Description

The present invention relates to a series of hair prostheses for aesthetically solving baldness.
Years ago, the Applicant perfected a very sophisticated method and application technique for producing natural hair prostheses that are fixed with adhesives to the scalp and can be subjected without problems to washing, immersion in water, permanent waves, or the like: such prostheses are obtained with natural hair mounted on a cap made of hypoallergenic microporous material crossed by a plurality of microperforations that allow ventilation of the scalp in order to preserve the condition of the skin.
Having worked in the field for many years, the Applicant has noted on the one hand that the prosthesis he has proposed, once adopted, permanently solves the problem without creating any discomfort that cannot be eliminated by simply using correct hygiene and periodic maintenance of the prosthesis, and on the other hand that there are some psychological problems occurring at the beginning of the treatment.
It must be taken into account that adopting the prosthesis emotionally involves the user to a considerable extent and that very often he ends up being unable to accept his sudden change of appearance from extensive baldness to a perfectly restored and thick head of hair.
Moreover, production of the hair prosthesis, which is custom-made entirely by hand, requires a rather long time and the user is in the condition of deciding to acquire the prosthesis when he strongly feels the urge for it and of then having to anxiously wait several months for the prosthesis, finally having it available perhaps at a time when his inner conviction has faded somewhat and his motivation is less urgent.
US-A-3,842,439 discloses a method for replacing hair which consists in providing, having surgically prepared the bald area, a series of continuous sutures embedded therein in a concentric ring pattern. Each suture is embedded so as to form a pattern of loops. Subsequently, wefts of hair are sewn to one or more of the loops until the area is covered with hair.
FR-A-2 676 622 represents the closest prior art and discloses a method and prostheses of decreasing areas specifically aimed to be used in combination with the hair graft technique. The prostheses is provided with a perforated portion having a hair density lower than in the rest of the prostheses, said portion being specifically designed to cover the scalp area wherein hair graft have beem implanted.
A principal aim of the present invention is to obviate the mentioned drawbacks of conventional prostheses, i.e., to provide a series of hair prostheses for reducing baldness that can be produced, and therefore start to be adopted, in a rather short time and avoids the uneasiness of passing instantly from baldness to a full head of hair and can gradually adapt the user to the presence of a foreign object in contact with his skin.
Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to achieve said aim with a structure that is simple, relatively easy to produce in practice, safe in use, effective in operation, and has a relatively low cost.
This aim and these objects are achieved by the present series of hair prostheses for reducing baldness as defined in the appended claims.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a series of hair prostheses for reducing baldness, according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
figure 1 is a plan view of four versions, designated by A, B, C, and D, of the series of prostheses according to the invention;
figure 2 is a plan view of the schematic distribution of the thickness of the hair in the prosthesis;
figure 3 is a schematic sectional side view of a prosthesis.
With particular reference to the above figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a series of hair prostheses for reducing baldness, according to the invention.
The series 1 consists of a plurality of prostheses, designated by the reference numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, that are custom-made after taking a mold of the user's scalp and are applied sequentially: the prostheses of each series have an area that increase gradually starting from an initial area, preferably located in the region where the last strands of hair were lost, until the entire bald area is covered.
In figure 1, the reference numeral 2 designates, by way of example, the spread centers that are typical of Western hair; these points, known in the field as distribution points, are very important in the production of the series of prostheses, since when the hair is applied to the supporting cap one always seeks to reproduce the natural distribution and orientation of the user's hair: in all the prostheses of the series, the natural distribution point of the user is maintained.
In figure 1, the letters A, B, C, and D designate four typical and rather frequent cases of shapes and dimensions of baldness: one begins with the assumption that the user has a bald spot having the extension of the area designated by the highest number (the numeral 6) and that gradually larger prostheses are applied in succession, starting from the one designated by the reference numeral 1: in practice, the user's prosthesis is replaced with another larger one every thirty to sixty days, so as to give him time to gradually adapt to his appearance with hair.
It should be noted that by using the series according to the invention it is possible to start to integrate the prostheses designated by the reference numeral 1 a few days after the user's confirmation, since the time required for the custom-production of said prosthesis is very short in view of the very small extent of its surface.
Advantageously, at the border 3 of each prosthesis the thickness of the support 4 is reduced, whereas the density of the hair is increased: in order to better integrate the point where the prostheses is attached to the scalp and to achieve an optimum aesthetic result, weave hair strands T (figure 3) are inserted along the outer border; these strands are orientated radially and have a flatter inclination with respect to the other regions.
It is noted that in each one of the prostheses, the individual hair are orientated and inclined like the user's original hair.
It has thus been observed that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects.
In practice, the materials employed, as well as the shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements without thereby abandoning the scope of protection of the appended claims.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

A series of prostheses provided to be applied on a bald area of a scalp comprising a first prosthesis adapted to cover a scalp area smaller than that of the whole bald area of the scalp, further prostheses each adapted to cover a scalp area which is larger than the area covered by the preceding prosthesis in the series while also including the area covered by the latter, and a final largest prosthesis of the series adapted to cover the whole bald area of the scalp, each said prosthesis comprising a support which is to be applied in use to the scalp, said support having an extension in area corresponding to said increasing scalp area to be covered and hair fixed on the externally facing side of the support, wherein each prosthesis adapted to cover the natural distribution point of the user has hair maintaining said natural distribution.
A series of prosthesis according to claim 1 wherein the support of each said prosthesis has a thickness diminishing at its peripheral border while the hair fixed on the support has a density increasing at said border.
A series of prosthesis according to Claims 1 or 2 wherein the support of each prosthesis has the form of a cap.