Light irradiation apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10653890-B2
Application number	US-201615553850-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2016
Priority date	Feb 26, 2015
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

Provided is a simple light irradiation apparatus capable of performing uniform irradiation even on to a treatment area having a curved surface and capable of suppressing excessive heating caused by light irradiation. The light irradiation apparatus ( 10 ) includes a polymer gel layer ( 3 ) that covers the treatment area ( 2 ) on skin ( 1 ), an LED protective layer ( 6 ) that closely adheres to the polymer gel layer ( 3 ), and a substrate ( 5 ) on which LEDs ( 4 ) closely adhered to the LED protective layer ( 6 ) are arranged thereon. A current control apparatus ( 8 ) which lights the LEDs ( 4 ) controls irradiation intensity and stops irradiation when reaching a demanded dose amount.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A light irradiation apparatus irradiating a treatment area with light beams, comprising:
a flexible substrate;
a wiring layer that is disposed on the flexible substrate;
a plurality of light-emitting diodes which is connected to the wiring layer;
a protective layer provided above the plurality of light-emitting diodes; and
a polymer gel layer that contains water and is provided above the protective layer, wherein
the flexible substrate, the wiring layer and the plurality of light-emitting diodes are covered with the protective layer,
a surface of the protective layer covering the plurality of light-emitting diodes has a plurality of convex portions, and the plurality of convex portions is arranged so as to be installed inside the polymer gel layer such that the plurality of light-emitting diodes is received inside the polymer gel layer,
the plurality of light-emitting diodes is disposed over a whole surface of the flexible substrate, wherein
the polymer gel layer has a contact surface which directly or indirectly adheres to a treatment area, and is formed over the plurality of light-emitting diodes.

2. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a polymer gel holding layer that is provided on the contact surface of the polymer gel layer and causes the light beams in a wavelength range used for treatment to pass therethrough.

3. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer gel layer has a drug application portion, to which a drug is applied, on the contact surface, or contains a drug component.

4. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an energization control unit that controls energization of the plurality of light-emitting diodes so as to keep increase in temperature of the polymer gel layer within a certain temperature or less.

5. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: an optical sensor that measures an irradiation intensity at the treatment area of light emitted from the plurality of light-emitting diodes to the treatment area.

6. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising: a control unit that calculates a dose amount of the light irradiated from the plurality of diodes to the treatment area based on the irradiation intensity measured by the optical sensor and irradiation time of the light emitted from the plurality of diodes, wherein the control unit controls the dose amount by controlling energization of the plurality of diodes.

7. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the control unit terminates irradiation of the light from the plurality of the light emitted from the plurality of light-emitting diodes to the treatment area when the dose amount reaches a predetermined dose amount demanded for the treatment area.

8. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light-emitting diodes is arranged on a plane surface at approximately even intervals, and there is a relationship of T/D≥½ between a thickness T of the polymer gel layer and an average distance D that is an average value of distances between adjacent light-emitting diodes of the plurality of light-emitting diodes.

9. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light-emitting diodes is covered with a plurality of resin layers, respectively, and the plurality of resin layers is covered with the protective layer.

10. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light-emitting diodes is disposed at approximately even intervals.

11. The light irradiation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the gel layer is formed with an approximately constant thickness.

Assignees

• Sharp Kk

Inventors

• Iguchi Katsuji
• Mori Jun
• Nakanishi Tohru

Classifications

• A61N2005/0663

  Coloured light · CPC title

• A61N2005/0652

  Arrays of diodes · CPC title

• A61N2005/0643

  Applicators, probes irradiating specific body areas in close proximity · CPC title

• A61N5/0624

  for eliminating microbes, germs, bacteria on or in the body · CPC title

• A61B2018/00648

  using more than one sensed parameter · CPC title