Temperature controlled heating device and method to heat a selected area of a biological body

#In general, there are many different medical and therapeutic applications in which heat is applied to the body. For instance, heat is applied to increase the body temperature when a person suffers from hypothermia. Heat is also applied to the body to establish certain temperature effects as they are known in the field of physical therapy and medicine (See for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,187 to Winthrop et al.).

#Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become popular and encompasses a range of treatments that involve a combination of light and a photo-active chemical agent. This light-activated drug is administered or applied to the patient, followed by illumination with intense light of a specific wavelength matched to the photo-sensitive qualities of the drug. Interaction between the drug and light causes destruction of the target tumor or lesion. Typically, a laser is used as the light source, however, other types of intense light sources may be used in certain dermatological applications.

#In U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,043, Zeimer et al. teaches in an application related to PDT that it is necessary for his application to increase the temperature in a particular anatomical locus to approximately 41 degrees Celsius to locally release the content of the liposomes. Zeimer et al. teaches the use of encapsulating drugs inside a liposome, which are not broken unless heated to approximately 41 degrees Celsius. Zeimer et al. teaches that the temperature is accomplished by irradiating the laser light absorbing liposomes at the specific site via a laser beam. Furthermore, Zeimer et al. teaches that it is advantageous to use a argon or krypton laser capable of delivering laser beam pulses with each pulse having a duration of about 200 to about 500 ms.

#The objectives and advantages of the present invention will be understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 shows a general example of the device according to the present invention;

#FIG. 2 shows an example of the temperature generating means and temperature detecting means in a device according to the present invention;

#Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following exemplary details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following preferred embodiment of the invention is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention.

#The present invention provides a temperature controlled heating device and method to control the temperature of a selected area of a biological body given a desired temperature. The present invention can be used in a variety of medical and therapeutic applications in which it is required to change the temperature of a selected area of a biological body. The present invention could be used to increase the temperature of any selected area such as, but not limited to, cutaneous or subcutaneous tissue, organs, cells, or various anatomical loci or structures. The selected area can be a two-dimensional surface or a three-dimensional shape. The device of the present invention can be a flexible device that can be flexibly placed over the skin or around a body part. The device can be placed against or around, for instance, a breast, a finger, an extremity, part of the belly, or the like. Such a device is characterized as a noninvasive device. However, the present invention is not limited to a noninvasive device and could easily be used as an endoscopic device to heat a selected area while the device has been entered into the body and operates subcutaneous.

#The present invention can be used for any type of abnormal or diseased tissue, such as, but not limited to, cancerous tissue. The temperature level can be set to a therapeutic level or at a level that is required for a medical procedure. In some applications, it is important to control the temperature within a few degrees and in other applications less than 1 degree. The present invention can also be used in applications where a temperature sensitive agent (e.g. a chemical agent, dye or the like), that is positioned in a selected area, needs to be deployed or activated and such a deployment only takes place when the selected area is at an increased temperature level. On the other hand, the present invention can be used in applications where a temperature sensitive agent that remained present in a selected area needs to be destroyed, for instance, to prevent potential toxic effects to the tissue or reduce any negative effects of the remained presence of the temperature sensitive agent. The above examples are merely described for illustrative purposes and the present invention should not be limited to these examples.