DEVICE FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF A BALLISTIC PRESSURE WAVE INTO A DEFOCALISED ACOUSTIC SHOCK WAVE

Abstract

A device (5) it is provided for cooperating with a handpiece (1) of a ballistic waves generating system for the treatment of a portion of tissue (4) of a patient, the handpiece (5) comprising a supporting member (30) on top of which an end member (3) it is arranged to come into contact with the said portion of tissue (4) of the patient, the device (5) it is characterized in that it comprises supporting means (50) of terminal means (51), said supporting means (50) being adapted to be mounted onto said supporting member (30), and said terminal means (51) being able to come into contact with the tissue portion (4) of the patient.

Claims

1. Device (5) for cooperating with an handpiece (1) of a ballistic wave generation system for the treatment of a tissue portion (4) of a patient, the handpiece (1) comprising a supporting member (30) on the end part of which a terminal member (3) it is arranged to come into contact with the said portion of tissue (4) of the patient, characterized in that it further comprises supporting means (50) for supporting terminal means (51), said supporting means (50) being adapted to be mounted onto said supporting member (30), and said terminal means (51) being suitable for come into contact with said tissue portion (4) of the patient.

2. Device (5) according to the preceding claim, wherein said supporting means comprises a supporting member (50) having a shape which it is complementary to the shape of said supporting member (30) of said handpiece (1).

3. Device (5) according to claim 2, wherein said terminal means comprises a terminal member (51), said terminal member (51) being mountable on the top of said supporting member (50).

4. Device (5) according to the preceding claim, wherein said terminal member (51) consists of a body made of flexible material and containing a fluid matter.

5. Device (5) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein when said device (5) it is mounted on said handpiece (1) the terminal member (51) of the device (5) it is in contact with the terminal member (3) of the handpiece (1).

6. Device (5) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said device (5) comprises a supporting member (50) having a frustoconical shape and a cylindrical terminal member (51) arranged on the top of said frustoconical shaped supporting member (50).

7. Device (5) according to the preceding claim, wherein said terminal member (51) of said device (5) it is constituted by a substantially cylindrical shaped body made of flexible material and containing a fluid matter.

8. Device (5) for cooperating with an handpiece (1) of a ballistic wave generation system for the treatment of a tissue portion (4) of a patient, the handpiece (1) comprising a supporting member (50) containing a terminal member (3), characterized in that it further comprises terminal means (51) mounted on the top of said supporting member (50) and arranged for cooperating with said terminal member (3) and said terminal means (51) being suitable for coming into contact with said tissue portion (4) of the patient, the arrangement being such that the energy coming from the handpiece (1) it is transferred to said tissue portion (4) of a patient through said end member (3) and said terminal means (51).

9. Device (5) according to the preceding claim, wherein said terminal means comprise a second terminal member (51), said second terminal member (51) being mountable on the top of said supporting member (50).

10. Device (5) according to the preceding claim, wherein said second terminal member (51) consists of a body made of flexible material and containing a fluid matter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] The present invention provides a device for being deployed onto a terminal of an handpiece of a ballistic wave generation system for the treatment of a tissue area of a patient, the handpiece comprising a supporting member on top of which a terminal member it is arranged and suitable for contacting the skin/tissue portion of the patient, the device being characterized in that it comprises supporting means for the supporting of terminal means, said supporting means being adapted to be mounted onto said supporting member, and said terminal means being adapted to contacting said patient tissue portion.

[0032] Thus, the present invention provides a device for being used on a terminal part of an handpiece of a ballistic wave generating system for the treating of a patient tissue substantially according to the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] A detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the device of the present invention will now be given, by way of a non-limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein:

[0034] FIG. 1 it is a schematic perspective view illustrating the operating principle of functioning of a generic compressed air handpiece for generating a pressure wave according to the state of the art;

[0035] FIG. 2 it is a schematic view illustrating how energy it is transferred from the handpiece onto a patient's tissue with a ballistic shock wave generating system of the state of the art;

[0036] FIG. 3 it is a perspective view showing a generic compressed air terminal part of an handpiece for the generating of a pressure wave according to the state of the art;

[0037] FIG. 4 it is an exploded view of the device of the present invention; and

[0038] FIG. 5 it is a perspective view of the device of the present invention mounted onto a generic handpiece in a non-functional condition.

[0039] Referring now to FIG. 1, a generic handpiece 1 for the generation of a ballistic shock waves according to the state of art there is shown.

[0040] According to this embodiment, the handpiece 1 it is pistol shaped wherein a bullet 2 it is fired with compressed air and hits a terminal member 3, thus generating the pressure wave which propagates in a radial direction.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 2, there is schematically shown in detail the propagation of a pressure wave into a portion of tissue 4 of a patient body through the handpiece 1 of FIG. 1.

[0042] As it may be noted in the figure, the terminal member 3 resting onto the portion of tissue 4 to be treated transfers the energy from the contacting point towards the inside of the tissue 4, causing said energy to diverge in a radial shaped wave (typically reaching an average depth of about 20-22 mm).

[0043] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated therein in detail the terminal part of the handpiece 1 of FIG. 1 of the state of the art.

[0044] As can be seen in the figure, the handpiece comprises a frustoconical shaped supporting member 30 on the top of which the terminal member 3 it is arranged in such a way that the same may come into contact with the patient's tissue portion (the latter not shown).

[0045] The arrangement it is such that the energy coming from the shock wave generated by the bullet 2 (not in the figure) when hits the rear part of the terminal member 3 it is transferred through the surface 31 of the terminal member 3 contacting the tissue portion of the patient (not shown). The frusto-conical supporting member it is configured to be mounted onto the pistol end part of the handpiece 1 (the latter being not shown in the figure).

[0046] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown therein a device according to the present invention in an exploded view.

[0047] According to the present invention, there is provided a device 5 which comprises a supporting member 50 having a frustoconical shape and a cylindrical terminal member 51 arranged on the top of said frustoconical supporting member 50. The terminal member 51 it is configured to come into contact with the skin of the patient.

[0048] According to the invention, the terminal member 51 it is constituted by a substantially cylindrical body and made of flexible material and containing inside thereof a gelatinous or liquid substance, and in any case a fluid matter.

[0049] The terminal member 51 thus formed it is mounted onto the end part of the supporting member 50.

[0050] Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown the device 5 of the present invention mounted onto the terminal member 3 of a generic handpiece (last not in the figure).

[0051] According to the invention, the supporting member 50 has a frustoconical shape suitable to cooperate with the supporting member 30 of the handpiece 1. The shape of the supporting member 50 of the device of the present invention it is complementary with the shape of the supporting member 30 of the handpiece. The supporting member 50 of the device 5 can be inserted (coupled) onto the terminal member 30 of the handpiece 1. In this condition, the terminal member 51 of the device 5 of the present invention it is in contact with the surface 31 of the terminal member 3 of the handpiece and therefore the latter can transfer the energy of the shock wave to the former.

[0052] More precisely, during operation the terminal member 3 of the handpiece 1 is in contact with the terminal member 51 of the device 5 of the present invention, while the terminal member 51 it is in contact with the patient's skin.

[0053] According to this configuration, the energy travels through the handpiece 1 through the two terminal members 3 and 51 (i.e., terminal members of the handpiece 1 and the device 5 of the invention) thereby to be transmitted through the patient's skin.

[0054] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present configuration, i.e. by interposing a terminal member 51 made of fluid material between the terminal member 3 of the handpiece 1 and the skin 4 of the patient, allows the pressure component to be filtered/dampened leaving only the acoustic component of the shock wave passing through.

[0055] Furthermore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that according to an alternative embodiment of the device 5 of the present invention, it is possible to make the operative arrangement above described also with a single piece supporting member 50 which comprises integrally a first and a second terminal member 3 and 51 abutted onto a single supporting member 50 mounted onto the handpiece 1.

[0056] The device 5 of the present invention has several advantages.

[0057] According to a first advantageous aspect of the present invention when the device 5 it is combined with a ballistic system it gives the possibility of having in a single machine the feature of generating both defocalised pressure and acoustic waves, and also in a separated manner.

[0058] According to another advantageous aspect of the present invention, the acoustic waves generated with the present device 5 have a depth of penetration in the tissues which is lower than the traditional systems. This feature makes it possible to overcome the application limits of the handpieces of the state of the art employing acoustic and pressure waves.

[0059] According to a further advantageous aspect of the present invention, with the present device 5 it is possible to fill the application gap of the handpieces of the state of the art, given the low penetration of the waves in the tissue the device of the present invention it is particularly suitable for applications in formerly untreatable body areas, such as for example: neck, cheekbones, lips, skull, genital organs, dcollet, and near large blood vessels.

[0060] The present invention finds application in all the fields where patient tissue treatment is required for a deep of no more than 15 mm.

[0061] Examples

[0062] In the rehabilitation field:

[0063] Especially painful superficial tendinitis (epicondylitis, epitrocleitis, hand tendinitis, foot, Dupuytren's disease, De Quervain's disease, carpal tunnel, snap finger, etc.)

[0064] In the aesthetic field:

[0065] face, lips, forehead, cheekbones, neck, scalp, dcollet, abdomen, buttocks, thighs, arms

[0066] Pathologies of the female genital apparatus: rejuvenation Vulnerary diseases

[0067] Pathologies of the male genital apparatus:

[0068] Erectile dysfunction, induratio penis plastic.

[0069] In the dermatological field:

[0070] bedsores and aseptic ulcers