Photodynamic Therapy Cooling Element for Pain-Free Irradiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current photodynamic therapy (PDT) systems face challenges with patient pain during irradiation, limited mobility, inhomogeneous radiation fields, and inefficiencies in light delivery, leading to increased treatment times and energy costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular irradiation/cooling combination system with a homogenized radiation field, integrated pain management, and mobility features, utilizing a deformable cooling element with a lens effect and reflection to ensure uniform light distribution and direct skin cooling, allowing for larger treatment areas and independent PDT applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If cooling is applied during PDT irradiation, then patient pain is reduced, but treatment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the irradiation element and cooling element into a single integrated PDT device. The cooling element is positioned in direct contact with the treatment region, while the irradiation element is attached to the cooling element, allowing simultaneous light delivery and cooling without requiring separate equipment or complex coordination between multiple devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling element is pre-cooled to a temperature between 0°C and 20°C before the PDT irradiation begins. This preliminary cooling action ensures that the treatment region is already cooled when irradiation starts, preventing pain from the outset and eliminating the need for complex pain management protocols during treatment.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional irradiation systems are used, then treatment can be provided, but radiation field homogeneity is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling element serves as an optical intermediary between the irradiation element and the treatment region. It includes an optical passage region that guides and distributes light, and a diffusing medium that scatters the light to create a homogeneous radiation field across the treatment area, eliminating hot spots and ensuring uniform light distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling element is designed with different optical properties in different regions: the optical passage region has high light transmission, while the diffusing medium has light-scattering properties. This local variation in optical quality allows the system to maintain efficient light delivery while achieving homogeneous radiation distribution across the treatment area.
3Use of energy by moving object
If light is delivered directly to treatment region, then irradiation efficiency is high, but light scattering causes energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling element with its optical passage region acts as an intermediary that efficiently channels light from the irradiation element to the treatment region. The optical passage is designed to minimize scattering and maximize light transmission, reducing energy loss while still achieving the desired light distribution through the integrated diffusing medium.
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 provides continuous, pain-free PDT with improved radiation homogeneity, reduced energy loss, and increased patient mobility, enabling effective treatment of larger areas without the need for medical facilities.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling element is placed against the treatment region with an optical passage region that can be cooled, while a second optical passage region lies against the emission side of the emitted radiation of the irradiation element
Implementation Method 2
A modular irradiation/cooling combination system with a homogenized radiation field, integrated pain management, and mobility features, utilizing a deformable cooling element with a lens effect and reflection to ensure uniform light distribution
Implementation Method 3
utilizing a deformable cooling element with a lens effect and reflection to ensure uniform light distribution
Implementation Method 4
After a certain period of waiting, the tumor and the healthy tissue surrounding it are subsequently irradiated with light at a suitable wavelength. This creates cytotoxic substances as a result of photo-physical processes
Implementation Method 5
The damaging effect on the tumor tissue is generally based on the creation of energetically excited and very reactive singlet oxygen, which destroys the surrounding afflicted tissue by oxidation
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an irradiation-cooling combination for application in photodynamic therapy having an irradiation element (120), a cooling element (130) permeable by the emitted radiation in an irradiation pass-through direction, wherein said cooling element is designed for attachment between the irradiation element (120) and a treatment surface (160) of a patient. The cooling element (130) has an optical pass-through surface that can be cooled as an attachment to the treatment surface (160). Additional components of the invention are a first fastening device (150) for defined positioning of the irradiation-cooling combination opposite the treatment surface (160), a second fastening device (140) for attaching the irradiation element (120) on the cooling element (130), a control unit (110) and a power supply (100). The invention provides effective pain management during photodynamic therapy in connection with a mobile treatment system and larger treatment areas by means of a uniform radiation field.