Scalp Phototherapy Illumination With Integrated Imaging Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional phototherapy devices for androgenetic alopecia are uncomfortable, unsightly, cumbersome, and struggle with uniform light coverage and thermal management, limiting their effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
Illumination devices with integrated data capturing capabilities, including flexible substrates and cameras, provide phototherapeutic treatments while capturing images of the scalp before, during, and after treatment, allowing for improved coverage and adjustment to the scalp's shape, and featuring adjustable and automated data capture devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid helmet-type phototherapy devices are used, then phototherapeutic treatment can be delivered, but the device becomes uncomfortable and unsightly for users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible substrate that can conform to the contours of the user's scalp, replacing rigid helmet structures. This flexible substrate supports light-emitting elements while maintaining comfort and aesthetics for the user during wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates adjustable positioning mechanisms that allow the light-emitting elements and data capture device to be dynamically positioned relative to the scalp, enabling the flexible substrate to adapt to different user head shapes and sizes for optimal comfort and treatment efficacy.
2Reliability
If conventional phototherapy helmets are used, then treatment can be provided, but uniform and uninterrupted coverage over the entire scalp area is challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate allows light-emitting elements to be positioned at optimal locations relative to the scalp surface, with each element independently oriented to provide uniform coverage. The data capture device similarly adapts to capture images of specific scalp regions with consistent quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated data capture device provides real-time feedback on scalp coverage and positioning, allowing the system to adjust light emission parameters and element positioning to ensure uniform and uninterrupted treatment coverage across the entire scalp area.
3Reliability
If conventional phototherapy devices are used, then light therapy can be delivered, but thermal management becomes a concern
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate provides thermal isolation between the light-emitting elements and the user's scalp, dissipating heat away from the sensitive tissue while maintaining close proximity for effective light delivery. This thin-film structure enables efficient thermal management.
4Measurement precision
If integrated data capturing capabilities are added to phototherapy devices, then treatment monitoring is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The data capture device is integrated into the same flexible substrate as the light-emitting elements, sharing common mounting structures, power supply, and control circuitry. This merging approach enables treatment monitoring without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible substrate and control system serve multiple functions: delivering phototherapeutic light, capturing scalp images, positioning elements, and managing power. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, thereby limiting complexity growth.
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 devices enable consistent and uniform light delivery, monitor treatment effectiveness, and adjust parameters based on real-time scalp data, enhancing user comfort and treatment efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
an array of light-emitting devices on the proximal surface
Implementation Method 2
a data capture device on the proximal surface of the flexible substrate, the data capture device configured to capture data of the scalp
Data Source
AI summary
Illumination devices for directing light on tissue to induce one or more biological effects and more particularly phototherapeutic illumination devices with data capturing capabilities are disclosed. Illumination devices for phototherapy include integrated data capturing capabilities while also being capable of delivering phototherapeutic treatments to the scalp. Data capturing capabilities include imaging capabilities where one or more integrated cameras within an illumination device are capable of capturing images of the scalp before, during, and/or after phototherapy. In certain embodiments, data capturing capabilities include the ability to map larger regions of the scalp or the entire scalp. Related systems are disclosed capable of accessing captured data from illumination devices, identifying and characterizing one or more features in the data, such as hair, hair density, and hair follicles, as well as other conditions of the hair and/or scalp.