Flexible Ultrasound Array for Skin Permeability and Collagen Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating cosmetic skin conditions such as skin aging and sun damage face challenges in efficiently delivering active agents through the skin due to the barrier function of the epidermis, particularly the stratum corneum, and the inefficiency in permeation of molecules with molecular weights above 500 Da.
Innovation Solution
The use of a flexible ultrasound array transducer system that delivers low and high-frequency ultrasound simultaneously or sequentially, in combination with a composition containing anti-glycation agents, antioxidants, and molecular chaperone inducers, to enhance skin permeability and stimulate collagen and matrix protein synthesis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional topical application methods are used, then the application process is simple, but the permeability of the stratum corneum is low and active agents cannot effectively reach the dermis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies ultrasound vibrations to the skin surface to mechanically disrupt the stratum corneum barrier and enhance permeability. The ultrasound transducer delivers vibrational energy that creates cavitation and mechanical stress, allowing active agents to penetrate deeper into the skin layers, specifically reaching the dermis where collagen and elastin are located.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the treatment by using ultrasound at specific frequencies and intensities. By adjusting the ultrasound frequency (typically 20-1000 kHz) and intensity (power density), the patent creates optimal conditions for enhancing skin permeability without causing damage, thereby improving the delivery of active agents to target depths.
2Reliability
If high power density ultrasound is used to increase permeability, then skin permeability is significantly enhanced, but skin damage may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pulsed ultrasound delivery rather than continuous exposure. By applying ultrasound in periodic pulses with specific duty cycles (e.g., 10-90% on-time), the treatment enhances permeability during the on-phase while allowing thermal and mechanical recovery during the off-phase, thereby preventing skin damage while maintaining effective drug delivery enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates monitoring of treatment parameters to provide feedback control. By monitoring ultrasound intensity, temperature, and skin response in real-time, the system adjusts the power density and pulse duration to maintain optimal permeability enhancement while staying below thresholds that would cause skin damage, ensuring safe and effective treatment.
3Productivity
If ultrasound is applied continuously to maximize permeability, then delivery efficiency increases, but heating of tissue occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pulsed ultrasound modes where the ultrasound is delivered in intermittent bursts rather than continuously. This periodic delivery allows the tissue to cool between pulses, preventing excessive temperature rise while still accumulating sufficient mechanical energy to enhance permeability and improve active agent delivery efficiency to the dermis.
4Adaptability or versatility
If molecules with molecular weights above 500 Da are applied topically, then a broader range of active agents can be used, but permeation through the epidermis becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses ultrasound-induced mechanical vibration and cavitation to physically disrupt the stratum corneum barrier and create transient channels that allow larger molecules (above 500 Da) to penetrate the epidermis efficiently. This mechanical action overcomes the size-based permeability limitation, enabling effective delivery of macromolecules such as peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids to the dermis.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly increases the permeability of the skin, stimulates collagen and matrix protein synthesis, and induces the expression of heat shock proteins, leading to improved skin renewal and repair, effectively addressing the inefficiencies in existing treatments for cosmetic skin conditions.
Implementation Method 1
cavitation results from the rapidly oscillating pressure field, causing bubble formation and collapse, which mechanically creates channels through the stratum corneum
Implementation Method 2
The second effect is the direct heating of the material through which the sound waves are travelling, due to attenuation of the acoustic energy through reflection, absorption and dispersion
Implementation Method 3
the flexible material is at least approximately acoustically matched, to one or preferably both of the transducer elements, to inhibit generation of reflections in the material that might divert or otherwise dissipate the ultrasound waves
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to ultrasound delivery apparatus comprising flexible arrays of transducers and to methods and topical compositions for the treatment of skin, in particular for the treatment of cosmetic skin conditions and to improve the appearance of sun damaged and/or aged skin; the invention further relates to the use of such apparatus and compositions in methods of treating skin, which methods may incorporate the application of ultrasound. The composition may comprise one or more anti-gfycation agent, one or more anti-oxidant, a dermatologically acceptable excipient and optionally one or more substance capable of inducing expression of a molecular chaperone.