System for treating skin wounds, bandaging and biochemical activation equipment for employing this system

Abstract

The present invention concerns a system for dermatologic treatment comprising an energy source for activating a biochemical healing effect and at least one bandage meant to be placed on or near the area being treated before applying the activation step using the said energy source characterized in that the bandage comprises an identification means (4, 5, 10, 11) interacting with a sensor controlling the functioning of the energy source.

Claims

1. A dermatological treatment system comprising: a handpiece having a proximal end and a distal end; a laser source arranged in the handpiece, wherein the laser source is configured to emit laser beam pulses with a wavelength, a power level, a duration, and a frequency; a laser control unit arranged in the handpiece, wherein the laser control unit is configured to control the power level, the duration and the frequency of the laser beam pulses; an adhesive wound dressing that is transparent in part, wherein the wound dressing is configured to hold lips of a wound together, wherein the laser beam pulses are configured to bond the lips of the wound together or the wound dressing is partially photoactivatable by the laser beam pulses to bond the lips of the wound together; a conductive strip along a length of the wound dressing, the conductive strip encoding a wound dressing identification code; a conductive extension protruding from the distal end of the handpiece, wherein the conductive extension is configured to contact the conductive strip so as to electrically connect the conductive strip with the laser control unit, and configured to allow the laser beam pulses to reach the wound or the wound dressing from the distal end of the handpiece during said contact; wherein the control unit is configured to control the power level, the duration and the frequency of the laser beam pulses based on the wound dressing identification code.

2. The dermatological treatment system of claim 1, wherein the wound dressing includes a second conductive strip running the length of the dressing, said two conductive strips being parallel to one another.

3. The dermatological treatment system of claim 1, wherein the conductive strip comprises alternating conductive sections and insulated sections encoding the identification code.

4. The dermatological treatment system of claim 2, wherein the two conductive strips comprise a memory having stored thereon the identification code.

5. The dermatological treatment system of claim 2, wherein the two conductive strips comprise a memory having stored thereon a firing sequence for the laser source.

6. The dermatological treatment system of claim 1, wherein the laser control unit comprises a memory having stored thereon a table including a correspondence between the identification code and the power level, the duration and the frequency.

7. The dermatological treatment system of claim 1, wherein the conductive extension terminates at a conductive point.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(1) The invention will best be understood by reading the following description and referring to the appended illustration, which provides a schematic view of a device as claimed by the invention.

(2) The dressing (1) is formed by a transparent film as described in European patent application EP265470. Dressing (1) presents two conductive strips (4, 5) placed either side of a centre line (6).

(3) It works in cooperation with a laser source (2) controlled by a control unit (3) that supplies power to and controls the laser source. The unit presents extensions (7, 8) whose ends are conductive and which enable the activation system to interact with the conductive tracks (4, 5).

(4) This information can be used to optimise the settings of the associated energy source, in particular the power, duration and frequency of the pulses.

(5) Activation of the laser is dependent on a contact being made between conductive tracks (4, 5) and the ends of extensions (7, 8). If such a signal is not detected, the laser is on standby and thus prevents any risk of accident, even when inadvertently directed towards a person. In some implementations, reference numeral 2 can refer to an active device, reference numeral 4 can refer to a conductive track on the dressing, reference numeral 5 can refer to another conductive track on the dressing, reference numeral 6 can refer to an incision line, reference numeral 7 can refer to a contact connecting the device and the dressing, and reference numeral 9 can refer to a memory device that can contain information for activating the active device 2.

(6) FIG. 2 shows a variant embodiment of the dressing. The dressing presents, on either side of the centre line (6), a first continuous conductive track (10) and a second track (11) with conductive zones (12) alternating with insulated zones (13). In some implementations, each of reference numerals 10 and 11 can refer to a conductive strip.

(7) The alternation between conductive zones (12) and insulated zones (13) is used to control the laser operating settings, for instance periodical activation and deactivation for an operating method involving bursts, or coding for operation according to different dressing types. In the latter case, the alternation between conductive zones (12) and insulated zones (13) constitutes a coding for the dressing type. An initial scan with handpiece (2) is used to identify the dressing and to determine the operating settings accordingly.

(8) Said settings are recorded in the memory of the laser control unit, for instance in the form of a table. These settings may be updated, particularly in the event that a new type of dressing is marketed, via a link with an external computerised device, or by data entry using an input interface incorporated in control unit (3).

(9) In another equivalent variant, the interaction may take place by means of an optical marking, for instance a fluorescent marking, excited by a secondary source fitted in the handpiece. The handpiece in this case includes an optical sensor, for instance a sensor including a CCD (charge-coupled device) associated with a calculator that analyses the image detected in order to calculate the distance and possibly the orientation of the handpiece with respect to the marking on the dressing. This marking may take the form of a matrix code or geometrical figures by which the distance may be deduced on the basis of the size and deformation of the image, as detected by the sensor in the handpiece.

(10) The dressing may consist of a simple transparent film, by which the lips of the wounds are brought together and temporarily held in place and by which the energy provided by the handpiece can be transferred. It may also consist of an opaque film with a transparent window running the length of the centre line (6).

(11) It may also include active coatings involved in the biochemical reactions under the effect of excitation by an energy source.

(12) The energy source described is a laser beam. However, other equivalent energy sources such as ultrasound, radio-frequency electromagnetic waves or a thermal source may be used and would constitute a technical equivalent. Nevertheless, a laser source remains the preferred solution.