Capsule phototherapy
AssigneePhotopill Medical Ltd.
InventorsSharon Ben-Yehuda, Ram Ben-Yehuda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A swallowable capsule for providing phototherapy to a patient's gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the capsule including a power supply, one or more phototherapeutic light sources, a speed determination unit for calculating speed of movement of the capsule in the GI tract, and a controller unit for activating one or more of the one or more light sources for delivering a therapeutic illumination dose to a target site in the GI tract, based, at least in part, on a determined speed. Related apparatus and methods are also described.
Claims24
A swallowable capsule for providing phototherapy to a patient's gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the capsule comprising:
- a power supply;
- one or more phototherapeutic light sources at one or more wavelengths in ranges selected from the group consisting of visible light and Near Infra Red (NIR) light;
- a speed determination unit for determining speed of movement of the capsule at a target site in the GI tract;
- and
- a controller unit for controlling illumination by said one or more phototherapeutic light sources so as to provide an effective phototherapeutic illumination dose to be in a range of 0.1-1.0 Joules/cm2 and activating one or more of the one or more light sources for delivering said effective phototherapeutic illumination dose to said target site.
(canceled)
(canceled)
The method according to claim 24 in which the capsule further comprises
- a speed determination unit for calculating speed of movement of the capsule in the GI tract, and
- controlling activation of the light sources when the capsule is in proximity of one or more target sites in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract so as to provide said effective phototherapeutic dose to the target site of the GI tract, based, at least in part, on a determined speed of movement of the capsule at the target site of the GI tract.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the light sources emit light substantially mostly at one or more wavelengths in ranges selected from the group consisting of 610-750 nm and 800-950 nm.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the light sources emit light centered at one or more wavelengths selected from the group consisting of 660 nm and 850 nm.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the intraluminal phototherapy of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is administered at a schedule selected from the group consisting of:
- every other day;
- three times a week, and ranging from once a day to once a week.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the intraluminal phototherapy of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is administered a plurality of times.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the intraluminal phototherapy of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is administered three times or more.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the method is used to treat inflammatory bowel disease selected from the group consisting of Crohn's disease;
- ulcerative colitis;
- and indeterminate colitis.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the method is used to promote healing of the intestinal mucosa and submucosal tissues.
21-23. (canceled)
A method for providing phototherapy to a portion of a GI tract comprising:
- swallowing a capsule comprising one or more phototherapeutic light sources capable of emitting light at wavelengths in ranges selected from the group consisting of visible light and Near Infra Red (NIR) light;
- and
- activating the light sources when the capsule is in said portion of a GI tract so that said phototherapeutic light sources provide an amount of phototherapeutic illumination providing an effective phototherapeutic dose in a range of 0.1-1 Joules/cm2.
(canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.