GB2293767A - Electrical treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus is described for electrically treating a human or animal body. In order to ensure proper treatment time, e.g. of the application of an epilation current via a tweezer 4 applied to a selected hair, the timing is controlled to start only when the resistance between the contact pad 3 and the tweezer 4 drops below a threshold value, i.e. when adequate contact is made between the tweezer 4 and the hair. This is detected, for example, by a high gain current sense circuit 5 which triggers a treatment time control circuit 6 to control the application of the desired current, for example, by a low current low voltage source 2 to the body. <IMAGE>

Description

ELECTRICAL TREATMENT APPARATUS This invention relates to electrical treatment apparatus for use in human and veterinary treatments.

The application of electrical current to effect treatment of humans or animals has been known for a long time and is widely practised for a variety of specific purposes.

Such treatment may be medical or therapeutic or, for example, cosmetic. A variety of galvanic or faradic devices is known in beauty treatment and claims have also been made for the relief of pain or alleviation of symptoms, e.g. of arthritis. Although the field is under-researched and the phenomena are poorly understood, various apparatus to apply an electric current have been commercially produced.

One area of this field where major exploitation has occurred is the use of so-called electrolysis for hair removal. In electrolysis, a current is caused to flow in the region of a hair follicle which causes electrolytic breakdown of certain components around the hair follicle, which kills the follicle and which allows the hair to be extracted. Because the follicle is killed, the hair does not re-grow.

It is desirable in all such types of electrical treatment that the treatment is controlled both in terms of the electrical current and voltage applied and in terms of time. Thus, for example, in needle electrolysis for hair removal, the amount of electrical treatment should be sufficient to destroy the follicle and enable the unwanted hair to be removed easily, but not so much as to cause damage to surrounding tissue. A problem in this connection is that the electrical connection between the treatment apparatus, e.g. a needle or a contact pad and the skin is generally unsatisfactory and variable. Much can depend in needle electrolysis on the skill of the operator, but even skilled operators cannot always easily tell whether adequate contact is being made and thus adequate electrolysis secured.

According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided electrical treatment apparatus including means adapted to pass an electrical current through a human or animal body, first means for effecting a relatively permanent electrical connection to part of the body and second means which, when applied to part of the body, will establish an electrical connection to the body, the apparatus being capable of feeding electrical current through the body at a predetermined level for a predetermined time, and characterised in that the feed of electrical current through the body is initiated only when the resistance between first and second means drops below a given value.

By selecting the value of resistance appropriately, the apparatus can ensure that the desired treatment current is only applied once adequate electrical contact is made.

Once that has occurred, the treatment is initiated and, after the preset time, terminated. The operator does not have to estimate when adequate contact has been made nor initiate treatment, e.g. by the use of a foot switch or the like as is known with a variety of treatment apparatus. Treatment is accordingly rapid, effective and takes place with a minimum of fuss and bother.

Preferably, the apparatus includes means to indicate in sense-perceptible fashion, preferably aurally or visually, when the treatment current is being applied to the body and when the treatment has finished, since the user of the apparatus does need to know both of these conditions. Thus, for example, in hair removal by electrolysis, for example using the tweezer electrolysis method disclosed in United States Patent Specification 5026369, the user needs to know when one hair has been sufficiently treated and to move the tweezers on to the next hair to be treated. Conveniently, a visual indication, for example, an illuminated light-emitting diode, may be mounted on a tweezer housing itself, the diode being arranged to light when treatment commences and to be extinguished when it ends.

Putting the invention into practice in terms of circuitry can be effected straightforwardly by any convenient means. A particularly useful approach is to provide a very high gain circuit which will detect the application of the second means to the body of the person or animal being treated and produce a trigger signal to turn on the desired treatment current for an adequate preset time.

Standard circuitry may be used for this purpose.

The invention is illustrated by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a block diagram and component circuit diagram for apparatus for epilation using the tweezer treatment method described in the US patent specification referred to above. In the drawings; Figure 1 is block diagram showing the basic circuit design and Figure 2 is a component circuit showing in detail how the circuit is constructed.

Referring first to Figure 1, the person undergoing treatment is illustrated by a standard icon. In order to provide a return path for the treatment current a pad 3, usually moistened to provide good contact, is applied to part of the anatomy. The hair to be removed is grasped, as explained in more detail below, by means of a pair of tweezers 4.

A continuously active low current, low voltage source 2 is connected to the pad 3 and the tweezer 4 is connected to a high gain current sensing circuit 5, the output of which is fed to a treatment control timer circuit 6.

Circuit 6 in turn controls whether a twenty-four volt current-limited treatment current source 1 is switched on or off.

Turning to Figure 2, this shows the complete circuit for the unit, though it does not show the pad 3 which is simply plugged into a jack socket 10. The tweezer assembly 4 is plugged into a jack socket 11.

The entire unit is powered by a nine volt standard battery 12 and can be switched on by means of a switch 13. This causes a diode LD1 to light up to indicate that the unit is switched on.

At the same time, via D6 and R13 the pad 3 is held at a slight positive voltage relative to the tweezer 4.

TR2 and TR3 are normally off holding pin 11 of the timing circuit based around IC1 high (the reset state). With TR2 and TR3 off the 24 volt treatment circuit is inhibited via D2, R9, R8 and TR4.

If the tweezer 4 is now contacted with the body of the person being treated, for example by grasping a hair to be treated, the Darlington pair transistor configuration TR2 and TR3 detects the small voltage/current flow from the pad 3 through the body and providing there is sufficient current flow they will turn on. Their collectors go low and the light emitting diode LD2 in the tweezer assembly is switched on to show that treatment has commenced.

The reset pin of counter IC1 is pulled low and the counter starts running. Pin 1 of IC1 is low during treatment, enabling via IC2 gate B the high voltage treatment oscillator comprising IC2 gates A and B and TR1. The actual treatment voltage is set by twenty-four volt Zener diode ZD1 and maintained by the feedback system comprising ZD1, R8, R10 and TR4. TR7 acts as a current limiter, and providing that the conductive path is maintained between tweezer 4 and pad 3, the current continues to flow until the timer turns off. At this point in time pin 1 of IC1 goes high thus applying a voltage across a buzzer 20 to give an audible indication that treatment has ceased and switching off the treatment current via gate B of IC2. If for any period of time the current flow through the body is insufficient to keep the Darlington pair TR2 and TR3 switched on, then the collector voltage of TR2/TR3 will rise and the treatment current is turned off via D2 and TR4.

The present invention accordingly provides a system where the treatment to electrolyse the hair root and enable the removal of the hair is initiated if but only if the tweezer is making adequate electrical contact with the desired hair.

Claims (6)

1. Electrical treatment apparatus adapted to pass an electrical current through a human or animal body, and including first means for effecting a relatively permanent electrical connection to part of the body and second means which, when applied to part of the body, will establish an electrical connection to the body, the apparatus being capable of feeding electrical current through the body at a predetermined level for a predetermined time, and characterised in that the feed of electrical current through the body is initiated only when the resistance between first and second means drops below a given value.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 and including means to indicate in sense-perceptible fashion when the treatment current is being applied to the body and when the treatment has finished.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the indicator means are a visual indicator.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the second means are tweezers and the visual indicator is a lightemitting diode mounted on a tweezer housing.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims and including a very high gain circuit adapted to detect the application of the second means to the body being treated and produce a trigger signal to turn on the desired treatment current for a preset time.

6. Apparatus for passing an electrical current through a human or animal body substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.