Scalp treatment device

Abstract

The invention provides a hand held hair treatment device for the stimulation of hair growth on the scalp, which device comprises:a housing which includes a handle portion and a head portion;a plurality of hollow tines, each tine having a proximal end affixed to the head portion, a longitudinal length extending from the head portion and a distal end terminating in a tip section;a light source disposed within the housing and configured to output light;light guide means for channeling the light from the light source through the tines, andoptical devices which are located at the distal ends of the tines;characterised in that the optical devices are configured to spread light which is incident upon them in an outward direction from the distal ends of the tines and onto the surface of the scalp to be treated.

Description

[0001]The present invention relates to a scalp treatment device, and more particularly to a hand held scalp treatment device using light for the stimulation of hair growth.BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART[0002]Light biostimulation has been recognized as a method for providing stimulation to the scalp which has beneficial and therapeutic effects in terms of stimulating the natural growth of hair. For example, low level laser light is believed to enhance the physiological state of the scalp and encourage hair growth when radiated onto the hair follicles on the scalp. Non-coherent light sources such as light emitting diodes (LED) have also been described in this context.[0003]A number of hand held devices have been designed to exploit the biostimulation effects of light sources such as low level laser and LED in a convenient and portable format.[0004]WO01 / 60457 describes a hand-held, comb-like device emitting laser beams from laser diodes set in a row centred between two parallel rows of teeth...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a handheld hair treatment device for stimulating hair growth on the scalp. The device includes a housing with a handle portion and a head portion, and a plurality of hollow tines that are attached to the head portion. The tines are designed to part the hair and allow light to reach the surface of the scalp. The device also includes a light source within the housing and light guide means for channeling the light from the housing through the tines. The light source may be a low power laser, light emitting diode, or low power semiconductor laser. The device may also include additional non-light containing tines to assist in hair parting, scalp exposure, or scalp massage. The light source may be powered by batteries or mains, and the device may also include optical devices located at the distal ends of the tines to spread the light in a controlled manner on the target surface. The technical effects of the invention include improved hair growth and a comfortable and portable device for scalp treatment.

Problems solved by technology

A problem associated with this pattern of scalp irradiation is that a proportion of the hair follicles present in the surface under treatment may be inadequately irradiated, or not irradiated at all, due to the size and spacing of the beam spots when applied to the scalp.

Repeated passage of the device over the area in question is not a satisfactory solution since there is an overall limit to the amount of laser power that can be applied to a person's scalp before the benefits of laser treatment are outweighed by more harmful conditions such as scalp redness, dryness and peeling.

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