Multi-Beam Laser System for Deep Tissue Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laser-based medical systems face limitations in treating deep surface tissue structures due to excessive heat damage to the skin surface, as the energy absorption and temperature reduce exponentially with depth, leading to inadequate control over treatment and potential scarring or under-treatment.
Innovation Solution
A medical system utilizing multiple low-powered lasers that intersect at a single focal point, with a cooling device to protect the skin surface, allowing for a preselected thermal gradient to treat deep tissue targets without burning the skin, using rotatable lasers and adjustable angular orientation to direct beams from various angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a single high-powered laser is used to treat deep tissue targets, then the energy level is sufficient to treat the target, but the skin surface is burned or ablated due to excessive heat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a single high-powered laser beam into multiple lower-powered laser beams that converge at the deep tissue target. Each individual beam has insufficient energy to damage the skin, but their combined energy at the focal point achieves the required thermal gradient for treating deep tissue structures without burning the skin surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple low-powered laser beams at the deep tissue target location to achieve the necessary cumulative energy level. The beams are synchronized and focused to intersect at the target, creating sufficient thermal effect for treatment while each beam individually remains below the skin damage threshold.
2Length of stationary object
If laser energy is increased to reach deeper targets, then penetration depth is improved, but the absorbed energy at the surface increases causing burning and necrosis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the high energy requirement for deep penetration into multiple lower energy beams that are distributed across different entry points on the skin surface. This allows each beam to deliver sufficient energy to the deep target without concentrating excessive energy at any single skin location, preventing burning and necrosis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-point energy delivery approach to a multi-point convergence approach. Multiple beams enter the skin from different locations and angles, converging at the deep target. This spatial distribution across multiple dimensions allows deep penetration while dispersing surface energy exposure below damage thresholds.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If cooling systems are added to protect the skin surface, then skin trauma is reduced, but the system complexity increases and uniform cooling is difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary protective action by ensuring that the energy level of each individual laser beam is set below the threshold required to damage the skin before the beams reach the target. This preventive approach eliminates the need for complex active cooling systems, as the skin is protected by design rather than by additional cooling machinery.
4Length of stationary object
If laser fluence is adjusted to treat deep targets, then treatment depth is improved, but control precision is insufficient leading to over-treatment or under-treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the treatment into multiple controllable laser beams, each with independently adjustable parameters. This allows precise control of the energy delivered to the deep target while maintaining safety margins at the skin surface. The segmentation enables fine-tuning of treatment depth and intensity without the all-or-nothor control limitations of single-beam systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes multiple adjustable parameters for each laser beam including energy level, pulse duration, frequency, and angle of incidence. By changing these parameters, the system can precisely control the thermal gradient at the deep target while keeping skin exposure below damage thresholds, achieving both deep treatment and high precision control.
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
The system effectively treats deep tissue structures like cellulite, cancer, and skin irregularities by achieving a desired thermal gradient at the target site without damaging the skin surface, providing precise control and reducing trauma, while maintaining safety features to avoid skin damage.
Implementation Method 1
The overall limitation in getting to deeper transcutaneous targets (such as deep dermis, fat, tendons, etc., without burning the skin the same time), is the fact that the absorbed energy/temperature is reduced exponentially the deeper the laser radiation gets (Lambert-Beer's law). This means that most of the light energy is absorbed at the surface of the skin.
Implementation Method 2
Some of the currently available methods and systems have attempted to overcome these negative effects by including a complex cooling system to cool down the skin, in an attempt to reduce excessive heat development at the surface of the skin and the resulting trauma to the epidermal layer of the skin.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein are medical systems involving the novel use of lasers in a way to transfer a desired amount of energy to deeper tissues, such as deep dermis, fat, deep vessels, fascia, tumors and others, without burning the skin, in particular the skin surface. A medical system (10) comprises a laser beam delivery system (21) producing a plurality of laser beams (1a-1d) for simultaneously or alternately irradiating the deep tissue target structure (5) from multiple directions via the skin surface (2), wherein the laser beams (1a-1d) individually are individually adjusted to have an energy level insufficient to ablate and/or burn the skin (2). The target structure (5) comprises a deep tissue target structure (5). The laser beams (1a-1d) have a combined energy level at their point of intersection to achieve a preselected thermal gradient sufficient to treat the deep tissue target structure (5). The medical system (10) further comprises a cooling device for cooling the skin surface (2) during irradiation. A corresponding method and use is also disclosed.