Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080208178 | Method and Apparatus for Monitoring and Controlling Laser-Induced Tissue Treatment - The present invention provides improved methods and apparatus for controlling light-induced tissue treatment. In accordance with various aspects of the present invention, the invention provides for improved, real-time control of the light beam operational parameters which enables greater safety, efficiency, uniformity and continuity of the treatment process. | 08-28-2008 |
20080208179 | METHODS OF INCREASING SKIN PERMEABILITY BY TREATMENT WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION - Methods of treating tissue with fractional laser radiation are disclosed. The fractional laser treatment methods reversibly increase skin permeability while maintaining a substantially intact stratum corneum and producing alterations within the epidermis and dermis. The alterations in the epidermis and dermis can include necrosis and/or coagulation. The alterations in the epidermis can include the creation of a plurality of pores in the stratum corneum and/or the creation of vacuoles in the layers of the epidermis below the stratum corneum. The fractional laser treatment methods disclosed herein can be used to provide treatments to the skin, to increase permeation of active substances into or through tissue, to deliver active substances locally or systemically, and to control the delivery of active substances. | 08-28-2008 |
20110021926 | CATHETER-BASED OFF-AXIS OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING SYSTEM - Catheter-based Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems utilizing an optical fiber that is positioned off-axis of the central longitudinal axis of the catheter have many advantage over catheter-based OCT systems, particularly those having centrally-positioned optical fibers or fibers that rotate independently of the elongate body of the catheter. An OCT system having an off-axis optical fiber for visualizing the inside of a body lumen may be rotated with the body of the elongate catheter, relative to a handle portion. The handle may include a fiber management pathway for the optical fiber that permits the off-axis optical fiber to rotate with the catheter body relative to the handle. The system may also include optical processing elements adapted to prepare and process the OCT image collected by the off-axis catheter systems described herein. | 01-27-2011 |
20110087201 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTABLE FRACTIONAL OPTICAL DERMATOLOGICAL TREATMENT - A fractional treatment system can be configured with a laser wavelength that is selected such that absorption of the laser wavelength within the tissue increases as the tissue is heated by the laser (e.g., 1390-1425 nm). Desirably, the laser wavelength is primarily absorbed within a treated region of skin by water and has a thermally adjusted absorption coefficient within the range of about 8 cm | 04-14-2011 |
20110098691 | Apparatus and Method for Adjustable Fractional Optical Dermatological Treatment - In a fractional treatment system, an adjustable mechanism can be used to adjust the beam shape, beam numerical aperture, beam focus depth, and/or beam size to affect the treatment depth and or the character of the resulting lesions. Adjustment of these parameters can improve the efficiency and efficacy of treatment. Illustrative examples of adjustable mechanisms include a set of spacers of different lengths, a rotatable turret with lens elements of different focal distances, an optical zoom lens, and a mechanical adjustment apparatus for adjusting the spacing between two optical lens elements. In one aspect, the fractional treatment is configured with a laser wavelength that is selected such that absorption of the laser wavelength within the tissue decreases as the tissue is heated by the laser (e.g., 1480-1640 nm). Desirably, the laser wavelength is primarily absorbed within a treated region of skin by water and has a thermally adjusted absorption coefficient within the range of about 7 cm | 04-28-2011 |
20130053931 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING TISSUE USING ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION - Methods and devices for treatment of skin are disclosed. These methods and devices use electromagnetic radiation to create networks or patterns of treatment zones. The networks or patterns of treatment zones comprise at least four treatment zones, at least two of the treatment zones in the network or pattern are slanted at angles in the skin, and the treatment zones extend at least as deep as the dermal-epidermal junction of the skin. Producing intersecting treatment zones and/or overlapping treatment patterns can increase the effectiveness of the treatments. The devices comprise a hand piece operably coupled to a delivery element, wherein delivery of electromagnetic radiation through the device to a portion of skin produces a network or pattern of treatment zones. The use of these methods and devices results in tightening of the skin and/or improvement in the cosmetic appearance of wrinkles in the portion of skin treated. | 02-28-2013 |
20130296695 | CATHETER-BASED OFF-AXIS OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING SYSTEM - A system for imaging a body lumen includes a controller and a display. The controller is configured to connect to a proximal end of a catheter having an optical fiber extending along the length of an elongate catheter body. The controller is further configured to rotate a distal end of the optical fiber from a location near a proximal end of the elongate catheter body, acquire optical coherence tomography (OCT) images using the optical fiber as the distal end of the optical fiber rotates, and determine a rotational lag of the distal end of the optical fiber. The display is configured to display one or more OCT images corrected for the rotational lag. | 11-07-2013 |
20140275775 | Narrowband Illumination of Paranasal Cavities for Visual Localization of Target Tissue - An apparatus comprises a guidewire body and a light source. The guidewire body includes an optically transmissive element. The guidewire body is sized for insertion in a sinus ostium of a patient. The light source is in optical communication with the optically transmissive element of the guidewire body. The light source is operable to transmit infrared light or narrowband visible light through the optically transmissive element. A detector may be used to detect light transmitted by the optically transmissive element through the patient. The detector may include a camera or a photodetector. Glasses may be used to provide an overlay of a camera image or to filter out light to enable focusing on light of a specific wavelength. A beam processing element may be used to provide a beam waist with an average irradiance of more than 10 W/cm | 09-18-2014 |