Phototherapy methods and systems

Abstract

The invention features methods and systems for treating inflammatory, proliferative skin disorders such as psoriasis, with ultraviolet phototherapy. The methods and systems use optical techniques to scan a patient's skin, designate areas of affected skin, and selectively deliver high doses of phototherapeutic ultraviolet radiation to the designated areas. To insure that only affected areas of skin affected are designated for the high doses of UV radiation, the methods and systems use one or more optical diagnostics that relate to independent physiological features of affected skin.

1 . A system for treating a proliferative skin disorder in a patient, the system comprising: 
 an illumination source configured to irradiate the patient's skin;    a detector configured to receive optical radiation emitted from selected areas of the patient's skin in response to the irradiation from the illumination source and to generate a signal relating to the radiation received from each of the selected areas;    an analyzer connected to the detector, wherein the analyzer compares the signals from the selected areas to at least one threshold parameter and designates selected areas having measured signals above the threshold parameters as affected areas; and    a therapeutic source configured to deliver doses of therapeutic radiation to the affected areas of skin designated by the analyzer.    
     
     
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