Flexible Phototherapy Mask With Diffused Light Around Facial Apertures
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semi-rigid phototherapy masks face challenges in maximizing skin exposure to light radiation, particularly around areas like the eyes, nose, and mouth, while being cost-effective and easy to manufacture, with conventional solutions either reducing therapeutic effects or increasing production costs.
Innovation Solution
A phototherapy mask design featuring a translucent layer covering the entire rear face of a flexible backing layer, with light emitters sandwiched between, allowing light diffusion to hard-to-reach areas and using a concave shape to conform to the face, reducing the need for dense emitter placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the density of light emitters is increased to maximize skin exposure to light radiation, then the therapeutic effect is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases and some areas may be subjected to excessive radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the density of light emitters across different regions of the mask. Areas requiring more radiation (e.g., problem areas like forehead, cheeks) have higher emitter density, while areas needing less radiation have lower density. This resolves the contradiction by optimizing therapeutic effect where needed without uniformly increasing cost and emitter density across the entire mask.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of light emitter density spatially across the mask surface. By adjusting the density parameter locally rather than uniformly, the invention achieves effective radiation coverage for therapeutic effect while controlling manufacturing costs and avoiding excessive radiation in any single area.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If apertures or shields are added around eyes, lips, and nose for safety and practicality, then user safety is improved, but the therapeutic effect is reduced due to reduced skin exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing apertures or shields only in specific local areas (eyes, lips, nose) where safety and practicality require them, rather than uniformly across the entire mask. This allows the majority of the mask surface to remain continuous and provide therapeutic radiation, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and therapeutic effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts apertures or shields only from the specific areas where they are needed for safety (eyes, lips, nose), leaving the rest of the mask as a continuous radiating surface. This selective extraction maintains safety where required while preserving therapeutic effect in the remaining areas.
3Ease of operation
If conventional face masks are designed with apertures for eyes, nose, and mouth, then ease of use is improved, but areas of skin around these features do not receive sufficient radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translucent layer as an intermediary between the light emitters and the skin. This translucent layer can diffuse and redirect light around aperture edges, ensuring that skin areas near eyes, nose, and mouth still receive sufficient radiation even when apertures are present for ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating light emitter density around aperture regions (eyes, nose, mouth) to compensate for the areas that would otherwise be shielded by the apertures themselves. This ensures therapeutic effect is maintained in these critical areas while preserving ease of use through the apertures.
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
Enhances therapeutic effects by uniformly irradiating hard-to-reach areas with improved manufacturing ease and reduced costs, ensuring better skin coverage and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
a translucent layer disposed on the rear face of the backing layer, the translucent layer covering the entire rear face of the backing layer; wherein the backing layer and the translucent layer together form a flexible structure that adopts a form that is concave to the rear of the mask
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A phototherapy mask comprising: a backing layer having a rear face and a front face and one or more lateral faces extending between the front face and the rear face a translucent layer disposed on the rear face of the backing layer, the translucent layer covering the entire rear face of the backing layer; and a plurality of light emitters sandwiched between the rear face of the backing layer and the translucent layer; wherein the backing layer and the translucent layer together form a flexible structure that adopts a form that is concave to the rear of the mask.