Skin Resurfacing at 1930 NM

Abstract

Non-ablative skin resurfacing can include generating electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 1920 nm to about 1950 nm and a fluence of about 3 J/cm 2 to about 6 J/cm 2 . The electromagnetic radiation is delivered to a target region of skin to cause thermal injury to the epidermis in the target region sufficient to elicit a healing response that produces a substantially improved skin condition without detachment of the epidermis (e.g., within 3 days of treatment).

1 - 4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . A method of non-ablative skin resurfacing, comprising:
 generating electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 1890 nm to about 1970 nm;   delivering the electromagnetic radiation to a target region of skin as an array of radiation beams with an average fluence of about 3 J/cm 2  to about 6 J/cm 2 ; and   causing at least two zones of thermal injury to the epidermis in the target region sufficient to elicit a healing response that produces a substantially improved skin condition without detachment of the epidermis, wherein each of the at least two zones of thermal injury is adjacent to at least one zone of substantially undamaged epidermal tissue.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising causing at least one zone of thermal injury while leaving the epidermis intact for up to 3 days. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising causing at least one zone of thermal injury while leaving the epidermis intact for up to 7 days. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising causing at least one zone of thermal injury to an upper portion of the dermis. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising causing cell necrosis to a depth of up to 300 micrometers in the dermis while leaving the epidermis intact for at least 3 days. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising causing at least one zone of thermal injury without acute cosmetic disturbance to the epidermis. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising matching optical penetration depth of the electromagnetic radiation to a thickness of the epidermis. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising exposing the target region of skin to the electromagnetic radiation for up to 1 second. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation is about 1930 nm. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation is about 1947 nm. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation is about 1920 nm to about 1950 nm. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising generating the electromagnetic radiation using a pulsed source. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 generating the electromagnetic radiation using a continuous wave source, and   delivering the electromagnetic radiation to the target region of skin as the array of radiation beams by at least one of scanning or gating of the continuous wave source.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising forming a pattern in the target region of skin including a plurality of zones of thermal injury, each zone of thermal injury being separated from adjacent zones of thermal injury by at least one zone of substantially undamaged epidermal tissue. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising forming a reverse fractional pattern in the target region of skin including a plurality of zones of substantially undamaged epidermal tissue surrounded by at least one zone of thermal injury. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising using a thulium-doped laser to generate the electromagnetic radiation. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising using a thulium:YAP laser to generate the electromagnetic radiation. 
     
     
         22 . A method of non-ablative skin resurfacing, comprising:
 generating electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 1890 nm to about 1970 nm;   delivering the electromagnetic radiation to a target region of skin as an array of radiation beams with a fluence of about 1 J/cm 2  to about 10 J/cm 2  per beam; and   causing at least one zone of thermal injury to the epidermis in the target region sufficient to elicit a healing response that produces a substantially improved skin condition without detachment of the epidermis, wherein the at least one zone of thermal injury is adjacent to at least one zone of substantially undamaged epidermal tissue.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation is about 1930 nm. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation is about 1920 nm to about 1950 nm. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the fluence is about 3 J/cm 2  to about 6 J/cm 2  per beam. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the fluence is about 5 J/cm 2  per beam. 
     
     
         27 . An apparatus comprising:
 a source for generating electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 1890 nm to about 1970 nm;   a delivery module for receiving the electromagnetic radiation, absorbing a portion of the electromagnetic radiation to form at least one region of untreated zone, and transmitting the remaining portion of the electromagnetic radiation to form at least one region of thermal injury adjacent to the at least one region of untreated zone, wherein the delivery module delivers an average fluence of about 3 J/cm 2  to about 6 J/cm 2  to the at least one region of thermal injury.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising a mask for absorbing the electromagnetic radiation. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the source is a laser diode. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the source is a thulium doped laser. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein the at least one region of thermal injury elicits a healing response that produces a substantially improved skin condition without detachment of the epidermis. 
     
     
         32 . An apparatus comprising:
 a source for generating electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 1890 nm to about 1970 nm and an average fluence of about 3 J/cm 2  to about 6 J/cm 2 ;   a lens array for forming the electromagnetic radiation as an array of radiation beams; and   a delivery module for delivering the array of radiation beams to a target area of skin and causing at least two regions of thermal injury in the target area, each region of thermal injury being adjacent to at least one region of untreated zone.   
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the source is a laser diode. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the source is a thulium doped laser. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the at least two regions of thermal injury elicit a healing response that produces a substantially improved skin condition without detachment of the epidermis. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation is about 1930 nm. 
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , further comprising a controller for moving the delivery module in at least one translational direction before causing the delivery module to deliver the array of radiation beams. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the lens array is integrated in the delivery module.