Back to results
US 2008/0076958 A1Published application
Method And Apparatus For Treating A Fungal Nail Infection With Shortwave And/Or Microwave Radiation
AssigneeAlma Lasers Ltd.
InventorsAlexander Britva, Sharon Feldman, Ziv Karni, Joseph Lepselter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to methods and devices for treating hard biological tissue (in particular, keratin-rich hard tissues) with electromagnetic energy having a frequency of at least 0.5 MHZ (megahertz) and less than 10 GHZ (gigahertz) (for example, HF, RF or microwave energy), and particularly, to methods aid devices for treating infections, for example, fungal infections of the nail.
Claims96
Apparatus for treating a human nail of a subject, the apparatus comprising:
- a) an electromagnetic energy source operative to produce electromagnetic energy having a frequency of at least 0.5 MHZ (megahertz) mid less than 10 GHZ (gigahertz), said electromagnetic energy source configured to produce an output electromagnetic signal directed to a conductive conformable applicator contactable with an upper surface of the nail of the subject;
- b) a pulse controller operative to cause said electromagnetic energy source to deliver said output electromagnetic signal as a pulsed signal having one or more predetermined pulse parameters, said pulse controller operative to effect a pulse-width modulation of said pulsed signal;
- c) an impedance transformer operative to convert an impedance of tissue associated with the nail so that traveling waves of said pulsed output signal reach the human nail substantially without being converted to a standing wave;
- and
- d) said conductive conformable applicator for delivering said electromagnetic pulsed output signal to the nail, said conformable applicator configured to conform to a shape of said upper surface of the nail plate upon contact with the nail,
- wherein said apparatus is operative such that said delivery of said pulsed signal is effective to heat at least one of a nail plate tissue and nail bed tissue below said nail plate.
3 more elements
Apparatus for treating a human nail of a subject the apparatus comprising:
- a) an electromagnetic energy source operative to produce electromagnetic energy having a frequency of at least 0.5 MHZ (megahertz) and less than 10 GHZ (gigahertz), said electromagnetic energy source configured to produce an output electromagnetic signal directed to a conductive conformable applicator contactable with an upper surface of the nail of the subject;
- b) a pulse controller operative to cause said electromagnetic energy source to deliver said output electromagnetic signal as a pulsed signal having one or more pre-determined pulse parameters, said pulse controller operative to effect a pulse-width modulation of said pulsed signal;
- c) an impedance transformer operative to convert an impedance of tissue associated with the nail so that an intensity of reflected power of said pulsed output signal is at most 0.1 an intensity of electromagnetic power delivered from said applicator to an upper surface of said nail;
- and
- d) said conductive conformable applicator for delivering said electromagnetic pulsed output signal to the nail, said conformable applicator configured to conform to a shape of said upper surface of the nail plate upon contact with the nail,
- wherein the apparatus is operative such that said delivery of said pulsed signal is effective to heat at least one of a nail plate tissue and nail bed tissue below said nail plate.
3 more elements
Apparatus for treating a human nail of a subject, the apparatus comprising:
- a) an electromagnetic energy source operative to produce electromagnetic energy having a frequency of at least 0.5 MHZ (megahertz) and less than 10 GHZ (gigahertz), said electromagnetic energy source configured to produce an output electromagnetic signal directed to a conductive conformable applicator contactable with an upper surface of the nail of the subject;
- b) said conductive conformable applicator for delivering said electromagnetic pulsed output signal to the nail, said conformable applicator configured to conform to a shape of said upper surface of the nail plate upon contact with the nail,
- c) a delivered-energy localizer for localizing delivered energy of said electromagnetic pulse output signal to a pre-determined energy zone associated with a sharp thermal gradient such that upon delivery of said electromagnetic pulse output signal, at least one location with said predetermined energy zone is heated to at least 50 degrees Celsius and said sharp gradient having a temperature variation in a location below said surface of the nail plate of at least 20 degrees Celsius/millimeter over a distance of at least 0.1.
A method of effecting a treatment of a nail condition, the method comprising:
- a) identifying a patient suspected of having a nail having at least one malicious condition selected from the group consisting of a nail infection, a nail inflammation, and a nail deformation;
- b) providing an electromagnetic energy delivery device having an energy delivery surface, said electromagnetic energy delivery device operative to deliver electromagnetic energy having a frequency of at least 0.5 MHZ (megahertz) and less than 10 GHZ;
- c) positioning said energy delivery device to delivery said electromagnetic energy to said nail;
- d) delivering a sufficient electromagnetic energy dose from said energy delivery device to said nail to treat said malicious condition.
1 more element
A method of treating or ameliorating an infectious condition in a subject, the method comprising;
- a) coupling an energy delivery surface of an electromagnetic energy delivery device with a hard tissue;
- and
- b) delivering electromagnetic energy from the energy delivery device to said hard tissue to heat biological tissue of the subjecting including at least a portion of said hard tissue in a manner that is effective to treat or ameliorating the infectious condition in the subject.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.