Treatment of skin disorders with uv light and cooling

Abstract

Skin disorders such as, for example, atopic dermatitis, dyshidrosis, eczema, lichen planus, psoriasis, and vitiligo, are treated by applying high doses of ultraviolet light to diseased regions of a patients skin. The dosage employed exceeds 1 MED, an MED being determined for the particular patient being treated, and may range from about 1 MED to about 20 MED or higher. The ultraviolet light has a wavelength within the range of between about 295 nanometers to about 320 nanometers and preferably is between about 300 nanometers and about 310 nanometers. High doses of ultraviolet light are restricted to diseased tissue areas so as to avoid risk of detrimental side affects in healthy skin, which is more susceptible to damage from UV light. Cooling the skin prior to and/or while exposing the skin to the UV light can be used to minimize tissue damage resulting from exposure to the UV light. Higher doses of UV light can therefore be employed without injurious affects.

1 . An apparatus for treating diseased skin of a patient with ultraviolet (UV) light, the apparatus comprising: 
 a source of UV light within the range of 300 and 315 nanometers;    a user interface configured to receive input specific to the patient;    a computing device in communication with the user interface, the computing device configured to automatically calculate the dosage of the UV light based on the input, the dosage being between about 6 and 20 minimum erythema doses (MED); and    a cooler for cooling the diseased skin to below about 0° C.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the source of UV light comprises an excimer laser.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the source of UV light has central operating wavelength at about 308 nm.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cooler comprises jets configured to spray the skin with a cool liquid, gas, or air.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cooler comprises a chilled UV transparent substrate.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cooler comprises a thermoelectric cooler.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said cooler is integrated with said delivery device.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a cooler is configured to cool the diseased skin to below about −5° C.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the input comprises a treatment multiplier, and wherein the computing device is configured to multiply the MED of the patient by the treatment multiplier to arrive at the dosage.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the input comprises skin type of the user.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the dosage is between about 16 and 20 minimum erythema doses (MED).  
   
   
       12 . An apparatus for treating an area of diseased epidermal tissue of a patient with ultraviolet (UV) light, the apparatus comprising: 
 a source of high intensity ultraviolet light between about 6 and 20 minimum erythema doses (MED) in the wavelength range of between about 300 and 315 nanometers having an output for emitting the UV light;    a computing device configured to automatically vary the dosage of the UV light to determine the MED of the patient;    a delivery device having an output for delivering said ultraviolet light to said diseased epidermal tissue; and    a cooler configured to cool the skin to lower than about 0° C.    
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the computing device is configured to automatically increment the MED determination without further input from an operator of the apparatus.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising a conduit positioned to receive said ultraviolet light, said conduit having an output end that emits said UV light.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein said delivery device includes said output end of said conduit.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the computing device is configured to automatically vary the dosage without further input from an operator of the apparatus.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the computing device is configured to automatically vary the dosage by 50 mJ/cm 2 , or 100 mJ/cm 2 , 150 mJ/cm 2 , 200 mJ/cm 2 , or 250 mJ/cm 2 .  
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the computing device is configured to automatically increase the dosage.