Space, luminous ceiling system and method for conducting photodynamic therapy

Abstract

A space for conducting photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treatment of skin diseases, especially for treatment of superficial skin tumors such as actinic keratoses, basal cell carcinomas, and initial carcinomas, wherein an active ingredient is applied to a skin area to be treated in order to form porphyrins and irradiation with light is conducted to form singlet oxygen based on the porphyrins in order to destroy diseased skin cells, wherein the space has side walls, a ceiling, and a floor, as well as at least two lighting fixtures, which are separated from one another by at least 50 cm and illuminate at least a subregion of the space, wherein there is an illuminance of at least 8,000 lux at every point in the subregion and the subregion has horizontal dimensions of at least 1 m.sup.2 and a vertical height of at least 40 cm. This invention also relates to a luminous ceiling system and method for conducting PDT.

Claims

1. A space (1) for conducting photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treatment of skin diseases, including treatment of superficial skin tumors including actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinomas, and initial carcinomas, wherein an active ingredient is applied to a skin area to be treated to form porphyrins and irradiation with a light is conducted to form singlet oxygen based on the porphyrins to destroy diseased skin cells, the space (1) comprising: side walls (4, 5) extending between a ceiling (3) and a floor (2), wherein there is a distance of 230 to 350 cm between the floor (2) and the ceiling (3); at least two lighting fixtures (10, 20) configured to emit at least 8,000 lux combined and separated from one another by at least 50 cm, wherein each of the at least two lighting fixtures has a lamp that continuously emits light in a wavelength range from 560 to 660 nm and emits more than 75 percent of a total radiation in this range, and each of the at least two lighting fixtures includes a reflector configured to direct light beams emitted from the at least two lighting fixtures to overlap; and an illuminated treatment subregion (30) of the space provided within the overlap of the light beams emitted from the at least two lighting fixtures, the subregion having horizontal dimensions of at least 1 m.sup.2 and a vertical height of at least 40 cm, wherein there is a distance of 40 to 120 cm between the floor (2) and a lower horizontal dimension of the subregion (30), the subregion includes treatment illuminance of at least 8,000 lux at every point in the subregion, and the treatment illuminance does not deviate by more than 50% from a maximum value within the subregion (30).

2. The space (1) according to claim 1, wherein the illuminance is no greater than 30,000 lux at every point in the subregion (30).

3. The space (1) according to claim 2, wherein the lighting fixtures are installed on the ceiling (3) or in a false ceiling (6).

4. The space (1) according to claim 3, wherein the lighting fixtures (10, 20) are arranged in two or more parallel rows.

5. The space (1) according to claim 4, wherein the lighting fixtures (10, 20) have asymmetrical reflectors (11, 21).

6. The space (1) according to claim 5, wherein the lighting fixtures are flush-mounted in the false ceiling.

7. The space (1) according to claim 6, wherein a cooling device is provided for the lighting fixtures (10, 20).

8. A method for conducting photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treatment of the skin diseases using the space according to claim 1, the method comprising: applying the active ingredient to the skin area to be treated to form the porphyrins; and irradiating with the light beams to form the singlet oxygen based on the porphyrins in order to destroy the diseased skin cells, wherein the irradiating takes place in the space (1) for more than one hour and with a total irradiation energy amount of less than 20 J/cm.sup.2.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the irradiating is carried out in the space with the illuminance being no greater than 30,000 lux at every point in the subregion (30), for more than 1.5 hours and the total irradiation energy amount is less than 15 J/cm.sup.2.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the treatment is for actinic keratosis, basal cell carcinomas, or initial carcinomas.

11. The space (1) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting fixtures are installed on the ceiling (3) or in a false ceiling (6).

12. The space (1) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting fixtures (10, 20) are arranged in two or more parallel rows.

13. The space (1) according to claim 1, wherein the lighting fixtures (10, 20) have asymmetrical reflectors (11, 21).

14. The space (1) according to claim 1, wherein a cooling device is provided for the lighting fixtures (10, 20).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) This invention is explained in greater detail in view of an exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 which shows a cross-section taken through a space, which is labeled as a whole with element reference numeral 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(2) The space 1 has a floor 2, a ceiling 3, and side walls, but only a left side wall 4 and a right side wall 5 are shown in FIG. 1.

(3) Spaced apart from the ceiling 3, a false ceiling 6 extends parallel to it. The distance between the ceiling 3 and false ceiling 6 can, for example, be 20-30 centimeters. A first lighting fixture 10 and a second lighting fixture 20 are mounted in the false ceiling 6. Because the lighting fixtures 10, 20 are embodied as structurally identical and are merely installed in mirror-image fashion, only the first lighting fixture 10 is referred to below. The following statements regarding the first lighting fixture 10 consequently also apply analogously to the second lighting fixture 20.

(4) The first lighting fixture 10, which is embodied here as a surface transmitter, has an asymmetrical reflector 11 that is accommodated in a lighting fixture housing 12. A lamp 13, which the reflector 11 encloses at the top, has a light spectrum with a high radiant energy density in or near 630 nm. To start and/or operate the lamp 13, a ballast 14, which is situated outside the lighting fixture housing 12.

(5) Such an arrangement serves to protect the ballast from excessive heat that is produced in the first lighting fixture 10. The electrical power of the lighting fixture 10 can be 400 Watt and more (for example 500 to 1000 Watt).

(6) The lamp 13 is an essentially cylindrical lamp with a diameter of 2 to 4 centimeters and a length of 15 to 25 centimeters. Consequently, the asymmetrical reflector 11 and the lamp extend into the plane of the drawing with the essentially constant cross-section shown here. The lighting fixture housing 12 is thus the shape of a block. The lighting fixture housing can be square in shape (such as the cross-section of the lighting fixture housing is square when viewed from above or below). The lighting fixture 10 can thus be favorably integrated into existing false ceilings, which usually have a square pattern.

(7) The first lighting fixture 10 emits light, which the depicted light beams 15 are intended to illustrate. These beams 15 overlap with corresponding light beams 25 of the second lighting fixture 20.

(8) Inside the space 1, a subregion can be defined, which is labeled with the reference numeral 30. The subregion 30 has a vertical height H.sub.TB and a width B.sub.TB in the horizontal direction. A distance from the floor 2 is labeled A.sub.B and a distance from the false ceiling 6 is labeled A.sub.ZD. For example, if a width of the space B.sub.R is 2.50 m, then in the exemplary embodiment shown here, the subregion 30 is approximately 1.60 m wide (B.sub.TB=1.6 m). The height H.sub.TB is approximately 70 cm, with the distance from the floor A.sub.B being about 80 cm. The distance A.sub.ZD between the subregion 30 and the false ceiling 6 measures about 100 cm. A distance A.sub.LL between the two lighting fixtures 10, 20 (respectively calculated from the center point of the lamps 13, 23) is approximately 1.3 m.

(9) As explained above, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional depiction. The subregion 30 thus extends into the plane of the drawing and can, for example, be 3 meters in length. In this case, this would yield a horizontal dimension of 4.80 m.sup.2 (B.sub.TB=1.6 m; B.sub.TB3 m). Within the subregion 30, there is an exposure level that should be at least greater than 12,000 lux, but less than 30,000 lux at every point of the subregion. In order to also ensure a sufficiently high exposure level in the longitudinal direction of the subregion (such as perpendicular to the plane of the drawing), there are three other lighting fixtures behind the first lighting fixture 10, viewed in the direction of the depiction in FIG. 1. The same applies analogously to the second lighting fixture 20 so that the space 1 is illuminated by a total of eight lighting fixtures, which are arranged one after another in two rows. In this case, not only does the light of two opposing lighting fixtures overlap (like the first and second lighting fixtures 10, 20 shown in FIG. 1), but so does that of lighting fixtures in the same row. The subregion 30, which in this case has a rectangular cross-sectional shape, can differ from a block shape and can, for example, be an ellipsoid.

(10) A preferred distance between two adjacent lighting fixtures in a row is 60 to 65 cm. A preferred distance between the rows is 1.2 to 1.3 m.

(11) If the irradiation as part of photodynamic therapy is then conducted inside the space 1, after a skin area that is irradiated has previously had a cream containing the active ingredient ALA applied to it in order to produce PPIX in diseased skin cells, then the patient sits or lies in the space so that the skin area is positioned in the subregion 30. The light of the lighting fixtures 10, 20 (and other lighting fixtures) at the above-indicated exposure levels sets in motion the desired reactions for the production of the singlet oxygen. But the concentration of PPIX and the concentration of singlet oxygen do not come anywhere near reaching the same values as in conventional PDT.