Method and apparatus for the repigmentation of human skin

A dermatological device for localized repigmentation of skin, wherein the device is handheld, cordless, and self-contained, comprising

• a. a housing shaped for gripping by a person's hand;
• b. a battery in the housing;
• c. a source in the housing which is capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation;
• d. control circuitry in the housing;
• e. an aperture;
• f. wherein the control circuitry controllably couples the battery to the source so that
• electromagnetic radiation emitted from the aperture satisfies the equation,
• 5 1 0.017 ⁢ W cm 2 ⁢ ∫ λ = 295 ⁢ nm λ = 400 ⁢ nm ⁢ I ⁡ ( λ ) R ⁡ ( λ ) ⁢ ⁢ ⅆ λ > 0.01
• where I(λ) is the irradiance versus wavelength (units of W/cm2/nm) and R(λ) is the relative erythemicity of the radiation as a function of wavelength relative to the erythemicity of radiation at 295 nm.

A handheld, cordless, self-contained dermatological device for targeted repigmentation of skin comprising,

• a. a housing configured for gripping by a person's hand;
• g. a battery in the housing;
• h. a source of electromagnetic radiation in the housing;
• i. an aperture through which the electromagnetic radiation is emitted;
• j. wherein the radiation emitted from the aperture is controlled to satisfy the
• equation,
• 6 1 0.017 ⁢ W cm 2 ⁢ ∫ λ = 295 ⁢ nm λ = 400 ⁢ nm ⁢ I ⁡ ( λ ) R ⁡ ( λ ) ⁢ ⁢ ⅆ λ > 0.01
• where I(λ) is the irradiance versus wavelength (units of W/cm2/nm) and R(λ) is a function having the characteristics of
• R(λ)=2.04×1024×exp(−λ/5.27), for 295 nm>λ>330 nm;
• and R(λ)=67.35×exp(−λ/30.40), for 330 nm>λ>400 nm.

A dermatological device for localized repigmentation of skin comprising

• a. one or more LED's capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation in a band from
• 320 nm to400 nm;
• b. an aperture;
• c. a control circuit;
• d. wherein the aperture is configured, and the control circuit activates the one or
• more LED's, so that a fluence of electromagnetic radiation one-tenth the
• minimum erythemic dose (MED) of skin is delivered at the aperture in less than
• about 10 seconds.

A dermatological device for localized repigmentation of skin that,

• a. one or more LED's capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation in a band from 320 mn to 400 nm;
• b. an aperture;
• c. a control circuit;
• d. wherein the aperture is configured, and the control circuit activates the one or
• more LED's, so that a fluence of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the
• aperture satisfies the equation,
• 7 1 0.017 ⁢ W cm 2 ⁢ ∫ λ = 295 ⁢ nm λ = 400 ⁢ nm ⁢ I ⁡ ( λ ) R ⁡ ( λ ) ⁢ ⁢ ⅆ λ > 0.01
• where I(λ) is the irradiance versus wavelength (units of W/cm2/nm) and R(λ) is the relative erythemicity of the radiation as a function of wavelength relative to the erythemicity of radiation at 295 nm.

A dermatological device for localized repigmentation of skin that,

• a. one or more LED's capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation in a band from
• 320 nm to 400 nm;
• b. an aperture;
• c. a control circuit;
• d. wherein the aperture is configured, and the control circuit activates the one or
• more LED's, so that a fluence of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the
• aperture satisfies the equation,
• 8 1 0.017 ⁢ W cm 2 ⁢ ∫ λ = 295 ⁢ nm λ = 400 ⁢ nm ⁢ I ⁡ ( λ ) R ⁡ ( λ ) ⁢ ⁢ ⅆ λ > 0.01
• where I(λ) is the irradiance versus wavelength (units of W/cm2/nm) and R(λ) is a function having the characteristics of
• R(λ)=2.04×1024×exp(−λ/5.27), for 295 nm>λ>330 mn;
• and R(λ)=67.35×exp(−λ/30.40), for 330 nm>λ>400 mn.

A method for configuring a dermatological device for localized repigmentation of skin comprising

• a. shaping a housing for gripping by a person's hand;
• b. positioning a battery in the housing;
• c. providing a source in the housing which is capable of emitting electromagnetic
• radiation in a band from 320 nm to 400 nm;
• d. locating a control circuit in the housing;
• e. providing an aperture in the housing;
• f. sizing the aperture, and configuring the control circuit to control the coupling of
• the battery to the source, so that a fluence of electromagnetic radiation of one-tenth
• of a minimum erythemic dose (MED) of skin is delivered at the aperture in
• less than about 10 seconds.

A method for localized repigmentation of skin using a self-contained, handheld, cordless dermatological device having a battery, a source which is capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation in a band from 320 nm to 400 nm, an aperture, and a control circuit that controls the coupling of the battery to the source, comprising the steps of

• a. sizing the aperture to have a size of between about 1 mm2 and 50 mm2;
• b. configuring the control circuit so that a fluence of electromagnetic radiation of
• one-tenth of a minimum erythemic dose (MED) of skin is delivered at the
• aperture in less than about 10 seconds;
• c. tracing the device along a portion of skin to be treated;
• and
• d. repeating step c a predetermined number of times;
• e. repeating step d for a predetermined number of days.