Up and down conversion systems for production of emitted light from various energy sources including radio frequency, microwave energy and magnetic induction sources for upconversion

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10080275-B2
Application number	US-201514688687-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2015
Priority date	Aug 6, 2007
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

Methods and systems for producing a change in a medium. A first method and system (1) place in a vicinity of the medium at least one upconverter including a gas for plasma ignition, with the upconverter being configured, upon exposure to initiation energy, to generate light for emission into the medium, and (2) apply the initiation energy from an energy source including the first wavelength λ 1 to the medium, wherein the emitted light directly or indirectly produces the change in the medium. A second method and system (1) place in a vicinity of the medium an agent receptive to microwave radiation or radiofrequency radiation, and (2) apply as an initiation energy the microwave radiation or radiofrequency radiation by which the agent directly or indirectly generates emitted light in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet range to produce at least one of physical and biological changes in the medium.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing a change in a fluid medium, comprising:
(1) placing into the fluid medium at least one gas-containing upconverter including a gas for plasma ignition,
said gas-containing upconverter configured, upon exposure to initiation energy, to generate and emit light into the fluid medium; and
(2) applying the initiation energy to the gas-containing upconverter, wherein the emitted light directly or indirectly produces the change in the fluid medium.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said fluid medium is waste water, and wherein applying comprises applying the initiation energy to the waste water to reduce contaminants in the waste water.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying comprises applying the initiation energy to the fluid medium to sterilize the fluid medium.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the fluid medium is a blood product.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying comprises applying the initiation energy to alter a surface structure of an article in the fluid medium.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein applying comprises photo-grafting a molecular species onto a surface of the article.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said applying comprises
applying microwave radiation or radiofrequency radiation by which said gas-containing upconverter generates emitted light in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet range to produce at least one of physical and biological changes in the fluid medium.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the gas-containing upconverter comprises a free-standing receptor having outside dimensions of millimeters or below to a first wavelength λ 1 of radiation, and
upon interaction of said initiation energy with the receptor, generating radiation in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet wavelength range.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
irradiating a fluidized bed including a plurality of gas-containing upconverters; and
generating from said plurality of said gas-containing upconverters radiation to treat the fluid medium about the fluidized bed.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid medium is an uncured radiation-curable resin and the change in the fluid medium is curing of the uncured radiation-curable resin.

11. A system for medical therapy comprising:
a photosensitive therapeutic agent activatable at a selected optical wavelength;
a gas-containing container including a gaseous medium configured to produce said optical wavelength via plasma generation;
said container disposed proximate to said therapeutic agent, said container being at least partially transmissive at said optical wavelength;
a magnetic field source configured to apply a magnetic field to said gaseous medium; and
an applicator configured to apply microwave or rf energy to said gaseous medium to produce a plasma from said gaseous medium in said container, thereby generating said optical wavelength for activating the photosensitive therapeutic agent.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein said container comprises at least one of glasses and ceramics, polymers, microporous and nanoporous materials, molecular sieves and zeolites, and microporous silica.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein said container comprises a dielectric capsule further comprising a conductive element.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein said conductive element comprises at least one of carbon nanotubes and graphene.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein said container comprises a glass microballoon.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein said container comprises a plasmonic active coating thereon.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein said plasmonic active coating comprises at least a layer of gold.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein said gaseous medium comprises a gas composition capable of emitting UV light and comprises at least one of hydrogen, argon, nitrogen, xenon, ammonia, iodine vapor; mercury vapor; sodium vapor, an organic gas, and hydrogen-nitrogen mixtures, and mixtures thereof.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein said magnetic field is applied by a magnetic resonance imaging system.

20. The system of claim 11 , wherein said microwave or rf energy is applied by a device comprising at least one of inductive loops, coaxial antennas, waveguide launchers, and quasi-optical applicators.

21. A system for generating a response in a fluid medium, comprising:
an rf or microwave electromagnetic flux source configured to direct rf or microwave radiation to the fluid medium;
an energy receptor comprising a gas-containing container having outside dimensions of millimeters or below and disposed in the fluid medium and configured, upon exposure to the rf or microwave radiation, to generate a direct or indirect response in the fluid medium from secondary radiation emitted into the fluid medium of a higher energy than said rf or microwave radiation.

22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the electromagnetic flux source comprises at least one of a rf applicator or a microwave applicator, or both.

23. The system of claim 21 , further comprising a magnetic flux source.

24. A medical catheter comprising:
a gas-containing containment sealed with an ionizable gas which upon receipt of first wavelength λ 1 of microwave or rf energy emits light in the visible or ultraviolet wavelength range;
an insertion sleeve including at a distal end thereof the gas-containing containment for insertion into a patient.

25. A method for producing light within the body of a
human or animal subject, comprising:
placing inside the body a gas-containing containment sealed with an ionizable gas;
irradiating the body with microwave or rf energy; and
igniting a plasma in the gas of the gas-containing containment to thereby produce light within the body of the subject.

26. A system for treating or diagnosing a human or animal subject, comprising:
a gas-containing containment sealed with an ionizable gas, the gas-containing containment configured to be disposed inside the human or animal subject;
a source of microwave or rf energy configured to broadcast the microwave or rf energy into the human or animal subject; and
said source at least partially having the capability to generate a plasma in the gas of the gas-containing containment to thereby produce light within the body of the human or animal subject.

Assignees

• Immunolight Llc
• Univ Duke

Inventors

• Bourke Jr Frederic A
• Fathi Zakaryae
• Stanton Ian Nicholas
• Therien Michael J
• Stauffer Paul Rath
• Maccarini Paolo
• Hansen Katherine Sarah
• Fels Diane Renee
• Wyatt Cory Robert

Classifications

• A61N2/00

  Magnetotherapy · CPC title

• A61N1/44

  Applying ionised fluids {(ion generators H01J37/00)} · CPC title

• C02F1/32

  with ultraviolet light · CPC title

• A61N5/10

  X-ray therapy; Gamma-ray therapy; Particle-irradiation therapy (A61N5/01 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02B20/22

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic