Phototherapy Dressing With Hydrogel Medicament for Targeted UV Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current phototherapy methods for skin disorders like psoriasis are cumbersome, require professional administration, and often result in uneven light exposure, leading to discomfort and reduced patient adherence due to the need for extensive treatment sessions and the use of messy topical agents like coal tar.
Innovation Solution
Development of phototherapy dressings with integrated UV light applicators and hydrogel-based medicaments that allow for targeted UV light delivery and coal tar application, enabling easy, safe, and effective treatment at home, with features like magnetic attachments, unique identifiers, and high water content hydrogels that enhance UV transmission and reduce messiness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If light is delivered to the entire body surface in a light chamber, then the patient receives comprehensive phototherapy treatment, but the patient is exposed to light over large areas that do not require therapy, increasing risk of cellular damage and burns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the body surface into treated and untreated areas by using a light-sensitive composition applied only to affected regions. This segmentation allows selective phototherapy activation only where needed, preventing unnecessary light exposure to healthy skin areas while maintaining comprehensive coverage of diseased regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies light sensitivity locally by using a light-sensitive composition that is applied only to specific affected areas of the skin. This creates local quality differentiation where only the treated areas respond to light therapy, while surrounding healthy skin remains protected from phototherapy effects, thereby eliminating the risk of damage to untreated regions.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a focused light source is used to direct light to specific areas, then light exposure to areas that do not need therapy is reduced, but there is increased risk of overexposure of one area and underexposure of another area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a light-sensitive composition as an intermediary between the light source and the skin. This composition acts as a mediator that selectively activates phototherapy only in areas where it is applied, ensuring uniform treatment distribution across affected regions regardless of light source positioning, and preventing both overexposure and underexposure through controlled chemical activation.
3Reliability
If coal tar is used as a topical treatment in conjunction with phototherapy, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but the treatment becomes messy and unpleasant due to odor and oil-based agents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the topical composition by using a water-based or alcohol-based light-sensitive composition instead of traditional oil-based coal tar preparations. This parameter change eliminates the messy and unpleasant characteristics while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness through photoactivation of incorporated drugs such as coal tar, anthralin, or other phototherapy agents.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system that combines light-sensitive compounds with therapeutic agents (such as coal tar, anthralin, or other drugs) in a water-based or alcohol-based vehicle. This composite formulation integrates multiple functions—topical application, light sensitivity, and therapeutic activity—into a single unified composition that is both effective and patient-friendly, eliminating the need for separate coal tar application steps.
4Reliability
If coal tar is applied before UVB treatment, then the Goeckerman regimen can be followed, but the coal tar blocks or absorbs much of the delivered UV light
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the light-sensitive composition containing therapeutic agents to the skin before light exposure, allowing the composition to be activated in situ during phototherapy. This preliminary action ensures that the therapeutic agents are positioned exactly where needed and activated only when light is applied, avoiding the light-blocking problem of traditional pre-applied coal tar while maintaining the synergistic effects of combined therapy.
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 solution provides a user-friendly, effective, and safe method for delivering phototherapy, ensuring consistent UV exposure to affected areas while minimizing exposure to healthy skin and reducing the unpleasantness of coal tar application, thereby improving treatment adherence and efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
a phototherapy UV light source configured to emit UV light at an intensity of greater than 2 mW/cm2
Implementation Method 2
a medicament in communication with the body, the medicament including a hydrogel having between about 0.1% and 5% coal tar or coal tar extract
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses for the therapeutic application of energy to the skin. In particular, described herein are phototherapy dressings, phototherapy UV light applicators (sources), and methods of using them to treat skin disorders such as psoriasis. The dressings described herein typically include a support body onto which a medicament formed of a semisolid material (e.g., hydrogel) and therapeutic agent (e.g., coal tar). The dressing is configured to allow a substantial amount of the UV light within a target frequency range to pass through the medicament and dressing to the skin. Also described are phototherapy UV light sources that may be coupled to the dressings and may apply one or more therapeutic dose of light to the patient.