U.S. patent application number 17/380948 was filed with the patent office on 2021-11-11 for light treatment apparatus and method of controlling the same.
The applicant listed for this patent is LUTRONIC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Jong Tae KIM, Won Joong KIM.
Application Number | 20210346716 17/380948 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005726796 |
Filed Date | 2021-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210346716 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM; Won Joong ; et
al. |
November 11, 2021 |
LIGHT TREATMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME
Abstract
The present invention relates to a light treatment apparatus and
a method of controlling the same, and provides to a light treatment
apparatus and a method of controlling the same, including: a
treatment light irradiating unit for irradiating a treatment region
with treatment light a plurality of times while moving on the
treatment region; a sensing unit for detecting movement information
of the treatment light irradiating unit; and a control unit for
controlling an irradiation pattern of the treatment light based on
the detected movement information such that an irradiation area of
the treatment light to be irradiated from the treatment light
irradiating unit overlaps at least in part with an irradiation area
of the treatment light which is previously irradiated.
Inventors: |
KIM; Won Joong; (Goyang,
KR) ; KIM; Jong Tae; (Seoul, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LUTRONIC CORPORATION |
Goyang |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005726796 |
Appl. No.: |
17/380948 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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16226347 |
Dec 19, 2018 |
11097124 |
|
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17380948 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 2018/00452
20130101; A61N 2005/0659 20130101; A61N 2005/0644 20130101; A61B
2017/00057 20130101; A61N 2005/0643 20130101; A61N 2005/0626
20130101; A61N 5/067 20210801; A61B 18/20 20130101; A61N 5/0616
20130101; A61B 18/203 20130101; A61N 2005/007 20130101; A61B
2018/2035 20130101; A61N 5/062 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A61N 5/06 20060101
A61N005/06; A61B 18/20 20060101 A61B018/20 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 19, 2017 |
KR |
10-2017-0174969 |
Claims
1. A light treatment apparatus comprising: a handpiece including a
treatment light irradiating unit for irradiating a treatment region
with a plurality of treatment lights, the plurality of treatment
lights including first and second treatment lights, the second
treatment light being irradiated subsequently to the first
treatment light; a sensing unit for detecting movement information
of the handpiece; and a controller for controlling an irradiation
pattern of the plurality of treatment lights based on the detected
movement information such that a first irradiation area of the
first treatment light is located at a distance from a second
irradiation area of the second treatment light, wherein the
controller controls the irradiation pattern by irradiating the
treatment region with the first treatment light and the second
treatment light while the handpiece continuously moves over the
treatment region such that the first and second irradiation areas
are apart from each other at a predetermined distance.
2. The light treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
adjusts an irradiation time of each of the plurality of treatment
lights based on the movement information detected by the sensing
unit.
3. The light treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
controls the plurality of treatment lights to be sequentially
irradiated, and controls the second treatment light to be
irradiated when detecting that the handpiece including the
treatment light irradiating unit has moved the predetermined
distance after irradiation of the first treatment light.
4. The light treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
controls an irradiation time of each of the plurality of treatment
lights to be faster than a reference period if a moving speed of
the handpiece including the treatment light irradiating unit is
faster than a predetermined reference moving speed, and controls
the irradiation time to be later than the reference period if the
moving speed of the handpiece is slower than the predetermined
reference moving speed.
5. The light treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the
irradiation pattern is related to an irradiation timing of the
treatment light, or an irradiation interval between the treatment
lights.
6. The light treatment apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a
setting unit for setting the predetermined distance.
7. The light treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller
stops irradiating the treatment region when the sensing unit
detects that a moving direction of the handpiece is reversely
changed.
8. A light treatment apparatus comprising: a handpiece including a
treatment light irradiating unit for irradiating a treatment region
with a plurality of treatment lights, the plurality of treatment
lights including first and second treatment lights, the second
treatment light being irradiated subsequently to the first
treatment light; a sensing unit for detecting movement information
of the handpiece; and a controller for controlling an irradiation
pattern of the plurality of treatment lights based on the detected
movement information such that a first irradiation area of the
first treatment light is located at a distance from a second
irradiation area of the second treatment light, wherein the
controller controls the irradiation pattern by irradiating the
treatment region with the first treatment light and the second
treatment light while the handpiece continuously moves over the
treatment region such that the first and second irradiation areas
are apart from each other at a predetermined distance.
9. A method of controlling a light treatment apparatus comprising
the steps of: irradiating a treatment region with a plurality of
treatment lights by operating a treatment light irradiating unit
included in a handpiece, the plurality of treatment lights
including first and second treatment lights, the second treatment
light being irradiated subsequently to the first treatment light;
detecting movement information of the handpiece; and controlling an
irradiation pattern of the plurality of treatment lights based on
the detected movement information such that a first irradiation
area of the first treatment light is located at a distance from a
second irradiation area of the second treatment light, wherein the
treatment region is irradiated with the first treatment light and
the second treatment light while the handpiece continuously moves
over the treatment region such that the first and second
irradiation areas are apart from each other at a predetermined
distance.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second treatment light is
irradiated when it is detected that the handpiece has moved by a
reference distance after irradiation of the first treatment
light.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: detecting a distance
that the handpiece moves from a position irradiated with the second
treatment light; and irradiating a third treatment light based on
the movement distance after the irradiation of the second treatment
light such that a third irradiation area of the third treatment
light is located at the predetermined distance from the second
irradiation area of the second treatment light.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 16/226,347, filed Dec. 19, 2018, and claims
priority to Korean patent application number 10-2017-0174969 filed
on Dec. 19, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by
reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a light treatment apparatus
and a method of controlling the same, and more particularly, to a
light treatment apparatus and a method of controlling the same,
irradiating a plurality of positions with treatment light while
moving on a treatment region.
Discussion of the Related Art
[0003] Recently, a technology for treating human body tissue in
such a way that treatment energy is transferred to the human body
tissue in order to change the state of the human body tissue or
remove the human body tissue has been widely applied. Accordingly,
treatment apparatuses using various types of electromagnetic waves
such as a laser beam, a flash lamp, an RF wave (radio frequency
wave), a microwave, an ultrasound, etc. have been developed.
[0004] Particularly, an apparatus for irradiating light as
treatment energy has been widely used as a treatment apparatus for
treatment of skin lesions, and this apparatus is also disclosed in
KR Patent Registration No. 10-1269970. When light with a specific
wavelength is irradiated onto the skin tissue, the light penetrates
into the skin, and according to the wavelength characteristics, is
absorbed into various tissues such as collagen, hair follicles, and
hemoglobin, which are located under the skin. Then, the absorbed
light is converted into thermal energy in the tissues to cause
thermal damage to the corresponding tissues, thereby carrying out
treatment while changing the state of the tissues.
[0005] Such a light treatment apparatus generally includes a
handpiece, so a user may proceed treatment by irradiating a
treatment region with treatment light a plurality of times while
moving the handpiece on the treatment region. The amount of energy
delivered to the treatment region varies depending on the
irradiation distribution of the treatment light, by which treatment
effect is determined.
[0006] The conventional light treatment apparatus irradiates
treatment light at a predetermined period or by the user's firing
operation while the handpiece is moving. Therefore, when the moving
speed of the handpiece is not constant, it is difficult to perform
uniform treatment, and there is a problem that the treatment effect
differs depending on the skill of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is to provide a light treatment
apparatus and a method of controlling the same capable of
transferring an appropriate amount of treatment energy to a
treatment position without being greatly affected by the moving
speed of the handpiece or the skill of the user.
[0008] In order to achieve the object of the present invention
described above, the present invention provides a light treatment
apparatus including: a treatment light irradiating unit for
irradiating a treatment region with treatment light a plurality of
times while moving on the treatment region; a sensing unit for
detecting movement information of the treatment light irradiating
unit; and a control unit for controlling an irradiation pattern of
the treatment light based on the detected movement information such
that an irradiation area of the treatment light to be irradiated
from the treatment light irradiating unit overlaps at least in part
with an irradiation area of the treatment light which is previously
irradiated.
[0009] The control unit may adjust an irradiation time of the
treatment light based on the movement information detected by the
sensing unit.
[0010] Specifically, the control unit may control the treatment
light to be sequentially irradiated a plurality of times, and
controls the next treatment light to be irradiated when detecting
that the treatment light irradiating unit has moved a predetermined
distance after irradiation of the previous treatment light.
[0011] Alternatively, the control unit may control an irradiation
time of the treatment light to be faster than a reference period if
a moving speed of the treatment light irradiating unit is faster
than a predetermined reference moving speed, and control the
irradiation time of the treatment light to be later than the
reference period if the moving speed of the treatment light
irradiating unit is slower than the predetermined reference moving
speed
[0012] Here, the control unit may control the irradiation pattern
of the treatment light such that the irradiation areas of two
treatment lights which are adjacently irradiated onto the treatment
region overlap with each other at a predetermined ratio.
[0013] The irradiation area may be formed in a circular spot shape
having a predetermined diameter on the treatment region, and the
predetermined overlapping ratio may be 10% to 25% based on the
diameter of the irradiation area.
[0014] Further, the light treatment apparatus may include a setting
unit for setting a ratio at which the irradiation areas of two
treatment lights, which are adjacently irradiated onto the
treatment region, overlap with each other. The setting unit may
provide a plurality of overlapping ratio options so that a user can
select the overlapping ratio. In addition, the control unit may
control the irradiation pattern of the treatment light such that
the treatment lights which are adjacently irradiated overlap with
each other at the overlapping ratio the user have selected.
[0015] The object of the present invention described above may be
achieved by a method of controlling a light treatment apparatus
including the steps of: irradiating a treatment region with a first
treatment light by operating a treatment light irradiating unit;
detecting a distance that a handpiece moves from a position
irradiated with the first treatment light; and irradiating a second
treatment light based on the detected movement distance such that
the second treatment light overlaps at least in part with an area
irradiated with the first treatment light.
[0016] Here, the step of irradiating the second treatment light may
be irradiating the second treatment light such that the irradiation
area of the second treatment light overlaps with the irradiation
area of the first treatment light at a predetermined ratio
Specifically, the second treatment light irradiating step may be
irradiating the second treatment light when it is detected that the
handpiece has moved by a predetermined distance.
[0017] The first treatment light and the second treatment light may
be irradiated onto the treatment region in the form of a circular
spot having a predetermined diameter, wherein in the step of
irradiating the second treatment light, a ratio at which the
irradiation area of the second treatment light and the irradiation
area of the first treatment light overlap with each other may be by
a distance of 10% to 25% of the diameter.
[0018] Further, this method of controlling the light treatment
apparatus may further include: setting a ratio at which the
irradiation area of the first treatment light and the irradiation
area of the second treatment light overlap with each other. In
addition, the second treatment light irradiating step may be
irradiating the irradiation area of the second treatment light to
overlap with the irradiation area of the first treatment light
based on the overlapping ratio set in the setting step. Further,
the object of the present invention described above may be achieved
by a treatment method using a light treatment apparatus including
the steps of: irradiating a treatment region with a first treatment
light by using a handpiece; moving the handpiece on the treatment
region; and irradiating the treatment region with a second
treatment light by detecting movement information of the handpiece
such that the second treatment light overlaps at least in part with
an area irradiated with the first treatment light.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a light treatment
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
[0020] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the main
configuration of FIG. 1,
[0021] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of an irradiation
pattern of treatment light during treatment,
[0022] FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a form in which treatment
light irradiated by the light treatment apparatus of FIG. 1 is
irradiated in an overlapped manner,
[0023] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating thermal distribution in the
tissue in the case the treatment light is irradiated in the
overlapped manner in FIG. 4,
[0024] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example in which the
treatment light irradiated by the light treatment apparatus of FIG.
1 is irradiated onto a treatment region,
[0025] FIGS. 7A and 7B are views illustrating a state of an
irradiation areas of the treatment light overlapping at two
different overlapping ratios,
[0026] FIGS. 8A and 8B are views illustrating a state in which
treatment lights having different spot sizes are irradiated in the
overlapped manner, and
[0027] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
the light treatment apparatus of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Hereinafter, a light treatment apparatus according to an
embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail
with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the
positional relationship of each component is principally described
based on the drawings. The structure of the invention in the
drawings may be illustrated, for the convenience of description, as
simplified or exaggerated if necessary. Therefore, the present
invention is not limited thereto, and other than these, various
devices may be, of course, added, changed, or omitted.
[0029] Hereinafter, the term "light treatment apparatus" includes
all light treatment apparatuses for treating mammals including
humans. That is, the light treatment apparatus includes various
light treatment apparatuses used for the purpose of improving the
state of a lesion or tissue. In the present embodiment, a structure
using a laser as a treatment light is mainly described, but the
present invention is not limited thereto, and various kinds of
light sources can be used.
[0030] Hereinafter, the term "treatment region" refers to a tissue
that requires treatment among various kinds of mammalian body
organs including human body organs. In the following, a light
treatment apparatus for a skin tissue as a treatment region will be
mainly described, but the present invention is not limited
thereto.
[0031] Hereinafter, a light treatment apparatus according to an
embodiment of the present invention will be described with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0032] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a light treatment
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 1, the light treatment apparatus according to the
present embodiment includes a main body 10, a handpiece 20, and a
connection unit 30 connecting the main body 10 and the handpiece
20.
[0033] The main body 10 forms a main frame of the light treatment
apparatus, and various components are installed therein. In the
main body 10, a treatment light generating unit 110 for generating
treatment light and various optical elements for transmitting the
treatment light may be provided. On the outer surface of the main
body 10, a control panel 11 for operating the treatment apparatus
or for setting operation contents, and a display 12 for displaying
various information to a user may be installed.
[0034] The handpiece 20 is configured in a shape that can be
gripped by the user. The user may change a treatment position while
holding the handpiece 20 in his hand and may proceed with the
treatment. The handpiece 20 includes a treatment light irradiating
unit 210 for irradiating treatment light generated in the treatment
light generating unit 110 to a treatment region. On the outer
surface of the handpiece 20, an operation unit 220 for controlling
the operation of the handpiece is provided. Sensors (not shown) or
the like for detecting various information during the treatment may
be installed in the handpiece.
[0035] The connection unit 30 is configured to connect the main
body 10 and the handpiece 20 described above. In the connection
unit 30, a light transmitting part 310 for forming a light path
from the treatment light generating unit 110 of the main body 10 to
the treatment light irradiating unit 210 of the handpiece 20 is
provided, and a signal line 320 for transmitting various control
signals generated from a control unit 120 of the handpiece 20 or
the operation unit 220 of the handpiece 20.
[0036] FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the
main configuration of FIG. 1 Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2,
each configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described in more
detail.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, the treatment light generating unit 110
is provided in the main body 10. The treatment light generating
unit 110 is configured to generate the treatment light as described
above. The treatment light generating unit 110 may use various
kinds of light source depending on the characteristics of the light
treatment apparatus. In the present embodiment, the treatment light
generating unit 110 is configured to include a laser medium capable
of oscillating a laser and a resonator. However, various light
sources such as a light-emitting diode (LED), a laser diode (LD),
and a flash lamp can be used according to the purpose of the
treatment apparatus other than the above configuration.
[0038] More specifically, the treatment light generating unit 110
of the present embodiment can use Neodymium:
Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Nd;YAG) or Alexandrite as a laser medium.
Therefore, the treatment light generated in the treatment light
generating unit 110 may be a laser having a wavelength (Nd: YAG) in
the range of 1060 nm to 1070 nm or a laser having a wavelength
(Alexandrite) in the range of 750 nm to 760 nm, more specifically,
a laser having a wavelength of about 1064 nm or a laser having a
wavelength of about 755 nm. However, the light treatment apparatus
according to the present embodiment is intended to treat
rejuvenation or pigment lesions of the skin and selects a
wavelength that is effective for the treatment, and it is also
possible to use a laser medium that generates other than the above
wavelengths
[0039] On one side of the treatment light generating unit 110,
various optical elements for processing and transmitting treatment
light are disposed. The treatment light having passed through the
optical elements is transmitted to the treatment light irradiating
unit 210 of the handpiece 20 through the light transmitting part
310 of the connection unit 30. Here, the light transmitting part
310 may be composed of at least one optical fiber, or may have a
light transmitting structure including a plurality of relay lenses
or the like. The treatment light irradiating unit 210 includes
various optical elements including a lens, and focuses the
treatment light transmitted from the light transmitting unit 310 or
processes it to a predetermined spot size to irradiate the
treatment region.
[0040] However, in the present embodiment, the treatment light
generating unit 110 is provided in the main body 10, but this is an
example, and it is possible that the treatment light generating
unit may be provided in the handpiece itself. In this case, the
light transmission part of the connection unit may be omitted, and
the treatment light irradiating unit of the handpiece itself may be
configured to include a light source and optical elements.
[0041] On the other hand, the control unit 120 is configured to
control each component of the light treatment apparatus. The
control unit 120 controls the operation contents of the light
treatment apparatus according to contents set by the user through
the control panel 11, contents operated by the user through the
operation unit 220 of the handpiece 20, or contents stored in its
own memory or the like.
[0042] As an example, the control unit 120 controls the treatment
light generating unit 110 and the optical elements disposed on the
optical path to control the irradiation pattern or parameter of the
treatment light. Specifically, it adjusts the irradiation time of
the treatment light, the duration and output of the treatment
light, and the like by controlling the operation of a flash lamp or
a shutter that excites the laser. Alternatively, it can control the
spot size and the like of the treatment light by controlling a
movable lens or the like which forms the optical path.
[0043] Further, in addition to the treatment light, the control
unit 120 may variously control the contents of the display, the
operation of a cooling unit in the case the cooling unit is
provided, or treatment contents based on the information detected
by a sensing unit described later.
[0044] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of an irradiation
pattern of treatment light during treatment. The treatment light
irradiated through the handpiece 20 may be composed of optical
pulses having a predetermined pulse width Pw. However, such optical
pulses may be composed of a single pulse or a set of a plurality of
unit pulses. As shown in FIG. 3, the treatment light is irradiated
a plurality of times while the treatment is proceeding. A plurality
of treatment lights are sequentially irradiated at time intervals,
and there is an off-time (to) between the irradiation times of the
respective treatment lights.
[0045] Generally, the treatment using such a light treatment
apparatus is operated in such a manner that the user irradiates a
treatment region with a plurality of treatment lights while moving
the handpiece onto the treatment region. Thus, since the treatment
is performed while the handpiece is moved, if the treatment light
is irradiated at the same time period, the distribution of the
treatment light irradiated onto the treatment region may be
different according to the moving speed of the handpiece. In this
case, when the user quickly moves the handpiece, the plurality of
treatment lights are irradiated at a wide interval, and when the
handpiece is slowly moved, they are irradiated at a narrow
interval. Therefore, the intensity of treatment differs depending
on the user, and even with the same user, different treatment
intensity may occur depending on the position.
[0046] Therefore, the present embodiment further includes a sensing
unit 230 for detecting movement information of the handpiece, and
is configured to control the irradiation pattern of the treatment
light based on the movement information detected by the sensing
unit 230. Therefore, it is possible to treat the treatment region
evenly without being affected by the moving speed of the
handpiece.
[0047] Referring again to FIG. 2, the sensing unit 230 is provided
in the handpiece, and is configured to detect the movement
information of the handpiece in real time. The sensing unit 230 may
be constituted by using sensors such as a distance sensor, a speed
sensor, and a gyro sensor. The movement information of the
handpiece detected by the sensing unit 230 is transmitted to the
control unit 120, and the control unit 120 controls the irradiation
pattern of the treatment light based on the movement
information.
[0048] As an example, the sensing unit 230 may be configured to
detect a movement distance of the handpiece. Therefore, the sensing
unit 230 can measure the movement distance of the handpiece from
the time when the treatment light is irradiated or the time when
the treatment light irradiation is completed, and determine the
irradiation point of the next treatment light based on the moved
distance. In the case of depending on this operation, the plurality
of treatment lights sequentially irradiated can be controlled so as
to be irradiated, after moving a predetermined interval, from the
irradiation area of the treatment light which are previously
irradiated.
[0049] As another example, it is possible to configure the sensing
unit 230 to detect the moving speed of the handpiece. For example,
the light treatment apparatus controls the treatment light to be
irradiated at a predetermined period in a range in which the
handpiece moves at a predetermined reference moving speed, and when
the moving speed of the handpiece deviates from the reference
moving speed, it is possible to adjust the treatment light
irradiation period in consideration of the moving speed of the
handpiece If the moving speed of the handpiece detected is faster
than the predetermined reference moving speed, the control unit 120
can adjust the irradiation time of the next treatment light to be
faster than the reference period. On the other hand, if the moving
speed is slower than the predetermined reference moving speed, the
control unit 120 may adjust the irradiation time of the next
treatment light to be later than the reference period.
[0050] In addition, the sensing unit 230 may be configured to
detect the moving direction of the handpiece, so that when the
moving direction of the handpiece is reversely changed, it is
possible that the control unit 120 controls the irradiation of the
treatment light to be stopped in order to prevent irradiation of
the treatment light again to the irradiated treatment region.
[0051] In this way, the sensing unit 230 can select and adopt one
of various sensors that measure information necessary to determine
distance information such as distance, speed, and acceleration and
the like. In addition, the contents that the control unit 120
controls the irradiation pattern of the treatment light based on
the detected information may be described in various viewpoints
such as an irradiation period of treatment light, an off-time
between treatment lights, and an irradiation point of treatment
light and the like, As such, it is noted that the technique of
controlling the plurality of treatment lights to be irradiated at
uniform intervals based on the movement information of the
handpiece detected by the sensing unit can be modified and
implemented in various ways.
[0052] FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a form in which treatment
light irradiated by the light treatment apparatus of FIG. 1 is
irradiated in an overlapped manner. Here, the irradiation area S of
the treatment light is an area irradiated with the corresponding
treatment light on the surface of the treatment region and has a
meaning that corresponds to a spot of the treatment light that is
focused on the surface of the treatment region. The treatment light
according to the present embodiment is irradiated in the form of a
circular cross section, and has an irradiation area in the form of
a spot having a predetermined diameter D.
[0053] As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 120 may control the
irradiation of a plurality of treatment lights to be sequentially
irradiated in the overlapped manner. That is, when the treatment
light is irradiated N times during the treatment, the irradiation
area of an n.sup.th treatment light may overlap at least in part
with the irradiation area of an (n-1).sup.th treatment light which
is previously irradiated. In the case the treatment lights are
irradiated in the overlapped manner as described above, the portion
where the treatment lights are not irradiated onto the treatment
region on which the handpiece 20 moves can be minimized.
[0054] Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when part of the edges of the
treatment lights are irradiated to overlap with each other, there
is an advantage of compensating the deviation according to the
intensity distribution of the treatment light. That is, although
the intensity of the treatment light is relatively large at the
central portion on the basis of the cross section of the treatment
light and becomes relatively weaker toward the edge, it is possible
to compensate the above deviation by having the edges of the
irradiation area irradiated in the overlapped manner.
[0055] Further, when the treatment lights are irradiated to overlap
each other like this, there is an advantage in that the deviation
due to the spatial heat distribution of the tissue that absorbs the
energy of the treatment light can be compensated. FIG. 5 is a view
illustrating thermal distribution in the tissue in the case the
treatment light is irradiated in the overlapped manner in FIG. 4.
When the irradiated treatment light is absorbed into the treatment
region, the absorbed heat is diffused inside the tissue. As shown
in FIG. 5, the heat at the central portion of the treatment light
is transferred to a sufficient depth, while the heat at the edge
thereof is not transferred to a sufficient depth. This also
appears, even when the intensity distribution along the cross
section of the treatment light is the same, as a similar type of
distribution to this due to heat diffusion characteristic
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the edge is irradiated to be
partially overlapped, energy is transferred in an overlapped manner
to the treatment region located at the edge of the treatment light,
and heat is transferred to a sufficient depth, so that the spatial
thermal distribution deviation of the tissue that absorbs the
energy can be compensated.
[0056] The light treatment apparatus according to the present
embodiment irradiates the treatment light such that the irradiation
areas of the two treatment lights which are adjacently irradiated
overlap with each other at the ratio of a predetermined value or
range. As described above, since the sensing unit 230 detects
movement information of the handpiece in real time, based on this,
the control unit 120 can control the overlapping ratio of the
irradiation areas of the two treatment lights which are adjacently
irradiated in a temporal relation.
[0057] Here, the ratio (r) in which the irradiation areas of the
two treatment lights overlap with each other can be expressed as
the ratio of the length (d) of the overlapping portions on the line
connecting the centers of the overlapping irradiation areas with
respect to the diameter (D). The overlapping ratio of the two
treatment lights may be a ratio that falls within a range of 50% or
less. As an example, the overlapping ratio of the present
embodiment may be a ratio included in the range of 10% to 25%. More
specifically, it may be a ratio included in the range of 15% to
22%.
[0058] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example in which the
treatment light irradiated by the light treatment apparatus of FIG.
1 is irradiated onto the treatment region. As shown in FIG. 6,
according to the present embodiment, the edges of the respective
treatment light irradiation areas S are overlapped with each other,
so that the area where the treatment light is not irradiated in the
direction in which the hand piece advances can be minimized.
Further, even in the case of irradiating the treatment region with
the treatment light while moving the handpiece in a plurality of
rows, as shown in FIG. 6, the treatment light is irradiated to
overlap with part of the edges of the row which is previously
irradiated, so that it is possible to proceed with the treatment
while minimizing the area where the treatment light is not
irradiated between the respective rows. In FIG. 6, each the
irradiation area arranged in one row shows a pattern irradiated in
a form staggered with each of the irradiation area arranged in an
adjacent row. However, the present invention is not limited
thereto, and various other patterns may be used.
[0059] Referring again to FIG. 2, the light treatment apparatus
according to the present embodiment further includes a setting unit
130, and the user can select the overlapping ratio of the
above-mentioned treatment light through the setting unit 130. The
setting unit 130 may include a control panel 11 or a display 12
installed on the outer surface of the above-mentioned main body,
and maybe configured as various other structures.
[0060] For example, the setting unit 130 may provide various
options of the overlapping ratio that the user can select, and may
be configured for the user to select the overlapping ratio. For
example, the setting unit 130 may provide 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and
40% choices through the display 12, and the user can select them.
Here, the 0% mode does not mean every state in which the two
treatment lights do not overlap with each other, but means that the
boundaries of the two treatment lights in the irradiation areas are
irradiated at a contact interval. In this case, although the
irradiation areas of the two treatment lights do not overlap each
other on the surface of the treatment region, an effect of their
substantially overlapping with each other inside the tissue can be
seen due to heat diffusion. Meanwhile, the overlapping ratio set by
the user is transmitted to the control unit, and the irradiation
area of the adjacent treatment light can be controlled to overlap
at a predetermined overlapping ratio while proceeding with the
corresponding treatment.
[0061] For example, in controlling the treatment light in such a
manner that when the control unit detects that the handpiece has
been moved by a reference distance from the time when an n-1.sup.th
treatment light is irradiated, then the control unit controls the
irradiation of an n.sup.th treatment light; when the predetermined
overlapping ratio is relatively low, the reference distance between
points at each of which the treatment light is irradiated can be
set to be wider, and when the predetermined overlapping ratio is
relatively high, the reference distance between points at each of
which the treatment light is irradiated can be set to be narrower.
For reference, the reference distance can be derived as follows.
(The treatment light moves while the treatment light is irradiated,
that is, during the time corresponding to the treatment light pulse
width, which can be ignored in the case it is significantly smaller
than in comparison with the off-time.)
[0062] Dr=D-Dr (Dr: reference distance, D: spot diameter, r:
predetermined overlapping ratio)
[0063] FIGS. 7A and 7B are views illustrating a state of an
irradiation areas of the treatment light overlapping at two
different overlapping ratios. FIG. 7A shows the state of the
treatment light in which the overlapping ratio is 20%, and FIG. 7B
shows the state of the treatment light in which the overlapping
ratio is 40%. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, when the overlapping
ratio is low, the intensity of the treatment light irradiated onto
the treatment region is relatively low, and when the overlapping
ratio is high, the intensity of the treatment light irradiated onto
the treatment region is relatively high. Therefore, according to
the present embodiment, by setting the overlapping ratio
differently, it is possible to control the treatment intensity of
the treatment region even without adjusting the output of the
treatment light or the spot size.
[0064] FIGS. 8A and 8B are a views illustrating a state in which
treatment lights having different spot sizes are irradiated in the
overlapped manner. The setting unit 130 described above can be
configured to adjust the spot size of the treatment light. In this
case, a narrowly formed treatment region can be easily treated.
However, if the spot size of the treatment light generated in the
same light source is adjusted, the intensity of the treatment light
transmitted per unit area to the treatment region is changed. If
the spot size of the treatment light generated from the same light
source is adjusted to be small, the intensity of the treatment
light to be irradiated onto the irradiation area relatively
increases, and if the spot size is adjusted to be large, the
intensity of the treatment light is relatively decreased.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the overlapping ratio can be
adjusted to compensate for the difference in the intensity of the
treatment light according to the change in the spot size.
[0065] That is, even when the spot size is changed, the control
unit 120 may control the overlapping ratio according to the spot
size when the treatment is desired to be performed with the same
treatment intensity on the treatment region. For example, when the
spot size is adjusted to be small, the control unit can control the
overlapping ratio to be reduced as well, and if the spot size is
adjusted to be large, the control unit can control the overlapping
ratio to be increased as well.
[0066] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling
the light treatment apparatus of FIG. 1; Hereinafter, with
reference to FIG. 9, the method of controlling the above-described
light treatment apparatus will be described in detail.
[0067] First of all, prior to the treatment, the method includes a
step of setting treatment contents (S10). In this step, various
parameters for the treatment contents as well as a treatment mode
can be set. For example, the intensity of treatment light, the spot
size, and the overlapping ratio during the treatment light
irradiation can be set. Thus, the user sets the appropriate
treatment contents in consideration of the treatment region and
lesion.
[0068] When the above-described setting step is completed, the user
can place the handpiece 20 on the skin, which is the treatment
region, and then start the treatment. The treatment is performed,
for example, by irradiating the treatment light at predetermined
intervals while moving the handpiece.
[0069] Then, a step of irradiating the treatment region with a
first treatment light is performed (S20). In this step, the control
unit 120 controls the operation of the treatment light generating
unit or the treatment light irradiating unit to generate the
treatment light, and the generated treatment light is irradiated
onto the treatment region through the end of the handpiece. Here,
the first treatment light may be the first treatment light to be
irradiated during the treatment, or may be a treatment light
selected at an random point in a plurality of treatment lights
being irradiated during the treatment. The first treatment light is
irradiated so as to have an irradiation area of a circular spot
with a diameter of D on the treatment region and is irradiated for
a time corresponding to the pulse width of the treatment light and
then turned off.
[0070] When the first treatment light is irradiated, the sensing
unit performs a step of detecting movement information of the
handpiece (S30). The movement information of the handpiece is
detected by the sensing unit, and the movement information detected
by the sensing unit includes a movement distance. The operation of
detecting this movement distance in the sensing unit can be
continuously performed during the treatment from the beginning of
the treatment. However, in FIG. 9, the present step is illustrated
as proceeding after the irradiating step of the first treatment
light, and this means that the measuring of the movement distance
is from the time when the first treatment light is irradiated (or
after the time when the irradiation of the first treatment light is
finished).
[0071] When the first treatment light is irradiated, the control
unit 120 detects the movement distance of the handpiece 20 and
controls the second treatment light to be irradiated at a
predetermined overlapping ratio. Once the overlapping ratio is set
in the setting step which is previously performed, a reference
distance corresponding to the overlapping ratio is determined. (In
the present embodiment, the reference distance is set on the basis
of the movement distance during an interval between irradiation
starting timing of the two treatment lights to be sequentially
irradiated, wherein the interval is the sum of `Pw` [a pulse width
of one treatment light] and `to` [an off-time between two treatment
light], "Pw+to". Alternatively, it is possible that the reference
distance is set based on the movement distance during one off-time
"to" between two treatment lights. However, if the pulse width is
significantly shorter than the off-time, there may be no practical
benefit of the above two types of distinction) Accordingly, if the
control unit 120 detects through the movement information detecting
step that the handpiece moves by the reference distance, then it
controls the treatment light generating unit or the treatment light
irradiating unit to irradiate a second treatment light (S40).
Accordingly, it is possible that the two treatment lights which are
adjacently irradiated in a temporal relation can be irradiated to
overlap with each other at a predetermined overlapping ratio while
irradiating in a state of being spaced apart by the corresponding
reference distance.
[0072] On the other hand, when the second treatment light is
irradiated, then similarly to the step S30, while a step of
detecting movement information for measuring a movement distance
from the time when the second treatment light is irradiated (S50)
is performed, a step of irradiating a third treatment light is
performed (S60). Then, these processes can be repeated to irradiate
the treatment light up to an N.sup.th treatment light.
[0073] However, in the flowchart of FIG. 9, although the steps of
detecting two pieces of movement information are respectively
illustrated as being separative steps, as described above, it is
noted that the movement information detecting step may be one step
that is continuously performed while the treatment light is
irradiated, and may proceed in parallel with each of the treatment
light irradiating step at the same time.
[0074] As described above, according to the present invention, it
is possible to control the irradiation pattern of the treatment
light in consideration of the movement information of the
handpiece, so that the variation in the treatment intensity
according to the characteristics of the user and the treatment
position can be minimize and it is possible to proceed with uniform
treatment
[0075] Further, since the treatment lights that are sequentially
irradiated are irradiated to overlap each other, it is possible to
minimize the treatment region where the treatment light is not
irradiated, to compensate for the deviation due to the spatial heat
distribution of the tissue that absorbs the energy of the treatment
light and the intensity deviation according to the position of the
cross section of the treatment light, and to adjust the intensity
of the treatment without changing the output of the treatment light
through adjusting the overlapping ratio and the spot size.
[0076] So far, although one embodiment of the present invention has
been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to
the above embodiment. It should be noted that the present invention
can be implemented as various changes and modifications by a person
with ordinary skill in the art without departing from of the scope
of the technical feature of the invention as defined in the
appended claims.
[0077] According to the present invention, since the treatment
light is irradiated in consideration of information that the
handpiece moves, so that there is an advantage in that uniform
treatment is possible.
[0078] Also, the treatment lights which are adjacently irradiated
are irradiated in a predetermined ratio in an overlapped manner, so
that it is possible to minimize the region where the treatment is
not performed.
[0079] Further, since the overlapping ratio of the treatment lights
which are adjacently irradiated can be set, even in the case light
having the same parameters is used, it is possible to perform the
treatment with various intensities by adjusting the overlapping
ratio.
* * * * *