Method and apparatus for dermatological hypopigmentation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9522031-B2
Application number	US-201615004549-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2016
Priority date	Aug 7, 2008
Publication date	Dec 20, 2016
Grant date	Dec 20, 2016

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide method and apparatus for effecting (e.g., lightening) an appearance of skin by cooling or freezing small separated surface regions of the skin to produce regions of local hypopigmentation. The width of the regions can be, for example, smaller than about 1 mm or 0.5 mm, and a distance between these frozen regions can be greater than about 3 times the width of the regions. An exemplary apparatus can be provided that includes a plurality of spatially-separated thermally conductive arrangements that can be affixed or otherwise coupled to a base. For example, the conductive arrangements can be regions of conductive material provided in or proximal to a thermal insulator, or thermally conductive protrusions affixed to the base. The conductive arrangements can be cooled and then contacted with the skin surface to produce the small regions of hypopigmentation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for gradually lightening an area of a skin tissue of a patient, the method comprising:
identifying the area of the skin tissue to be treated with hypopigmentation; and
treating the area of the skin tissue of the patient by locally freezing the area of the skin tissue with a cooling arrangement having a temperature between −4° C. to −30° C. to provide controlled heat extraction from the skin tissue; and freezing a dermal-epidermal junction of the area of the skin tissue
wherein the local freezing of the area of the skin tissue with the cooling arrangement having the temperature between −4° C. to −30° C. generates a hypopigmentation effect in the area of the skin tissue.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the local freezing of the skin tissue decreases melanosome production or melanosome transfer to keratinocytes.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein treating the area of the skin tissue of the patient by locally freezing the area of the skin tissue comprises contacting the area of the skin tissue with a cooling contact end of a skin treatment device configured for non-penetrating contact with the skin tissue of the patient, the cooling contact end being cooled by the cooling arrangement to a temperature between −4° C. to −20° C. to provide a controlled heat extraction from the skin tissue during contact between the skin tissue and the cooling contact end.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the area of the skin tissue is contacted with the cooling contact end of the skin treatment device for greater than 15 seconds.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the cooling arrangement comprises a thermoelectric cooler, wherein the cooling contact end of the skin treatment device transfers heat from the cooling contact end to the cooling arrangement by conduction.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising a control arrangement coupled with the thermoelectric cooler that is configured to maintain the cooling contact end of the skin treatment device at a predetermined temperature.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the control arrangement comprises a temperature monitor comprising at least one thermistor or thermocouple.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein the cooling contact end of the skin treatment device is contacted with the area of the skin tissue for a predetermined amount of time which locally freezes the area of the skin tissue contacted by the cooling contact end.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein treating the area of the skin tissue of the patient comprises treating a plurality of spatially separated spots of the skin tissue by locally freezing the plurality of spatially separated spots of the skin tissue further comprising providing an insulation between adjacent treatment spots.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the insulation includes a plurality of openings and is coupled to a lower surface of a flat cooling base, and wherein the skin tissue is contacted with the flat cooling base configured to contact the skin tissue through the plurality of openings of the insulation to freeze the plurality of spatially separated spots of the skin tissue.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising contacting the area of the skin tissue to be treated with a mask that is configured to protect selected regions of the skin tissue, wherein treating the area of the skin tissue of the patient by locally freezing the area of the skin tissue comprises spraying the area of the skin tissue with a non-contact cryospray device to portions of the area of the skin tissue that are unprotected by the mask.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising repeating the treating step on a previously identified and treated area of the skin tissue to further lighten the skin tissue.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying hydroquinone or cortisone topically to the area of the skin tissue after locally freezing the area of the skin tissue.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the area of the skin tissue comprises one or more freckles and wherein the hypopigmentation effect lightens the one or more freckles.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the area of the skin tissue comprises one or more age spots, and wherein the hypopigmentation effect lightens the one or more age spots.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the area of the skin tissue comprises one or more café au lait spots, and wherein the hypopigmentation effect lightens the one or more café au lait spots.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a substance topically to the area of the skin tissue after locally freezing the area of the skin tissue to reduce inflammation.

18. A method for gradually lightening an area of a skin tissue of a patient, the method comprising:
identifying the area of the skin tissue to be treated with hypopigmentation;
contacting the area of the skin tissue to be treated with a cooling contact end of a skin treatment device having a cooling contact surface configured for non-penetrating contact with the skin tissue of the patient; and
locally freezing the area of the skin tissue proximal to the cooling contact surface, the cooling contact end being in thermal communication with a cooling arrangement, the cooling arrangement being cooled to a temperature between −4° C. to −30° C. to provide controlled heat extraction from the skin tissue; and freezing a dermal-epidermal junction of the area of the skin tissue
wherein the local freezing of the area of the skin tissue generates a hypopigmentation effect in the area of the skin tissue.

19. A method for gradually lightening an area of a skin tissue of a patient, the method comprising:
identifying the area of the skin tissue to be treated with hypopigmentation;
contacting the area of the skin tissue to be treated with a mask that protects selected regions of the skin tissue and that allows a cryospray to contact and freeze spatially separated regions of the skin tissue; and
spraying the area of the skin tissue with the cryospray to locally freeze the spatially separated regions of the area of the skin tissue that are unprotected by the mask; freezing a dermal-epidermal junction of the area of the skin tissue,
wherein the local freezing of the spatially separate regions of the area of the skin tissue generates a hypopigmentation effect in the area of the skin tissue.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein a width of each of the spatially separate regions of the area of the skin tissue is greater than 0.1 mm, and wherein a spacing between each of the spatially separate regions of the area of the skin tissue regions is greater than 5 mm so as to effect a fractional cryotherapy of the skin tissue.

21. The method of claim 19 , further comprising providing a perforated discontinuous insulating layer between the spatially separate regions of the area of the skin tissue.

Assignees

• Massachusetts Gen Hospital

Inventors

• Anderson Richard R
• Manstein Dieter

Classifications

• A61F2007/0056

  for cooling · CPC title

• A61F7/10

  Cooling bags, e.g. ice-bags · CPC title

• A61B2017/00747

  Dermatology · CPC title

• A61F2007/0063

  for cooling · CPC title

• A61B2018/0237

  with a thermoelectric element in the probe for cooling purposes · CPC title