Apparatus for dermatological treatment and fractional skin resurfacing

Abstract

A system and method for performing fractional resurfacing of a target area of skin using electromagnetic radiation are provided. An electromagnetic radiation is generated by an electromagnetic radiation source. The electromagnetic radiation is caused to be applied to a particular portion of a target area of skin. The electromagnetic radiation can be impeded from affecting another portion of the target area of the skin by a mask. Alternatively, the electromagnetic radiation may be applied to portions of the target area of the skin, other than the particular portion.

1 - 109 . (canceled) 
     
     
         110 . An apparatus for treating dermatological conditions, comprising:
 an energy source arrangement configured to provide an electromagnetic radiation;   an optical arrangement configured to (i) cause an irradiation of at least one first section of a target area of skin with at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation, and (ii) prevent at least one second section of the target area of the skin from being exposed to at least the portion of the electromagnetic radiation;   wherein at least one of the energy source arrangement or the optical arrangement configures the radiation to at least one of thermally damage or ablate the at least one first section of the skin extending from a surface of the skin to a particular depth within the dermis, and   wherein at least one of the energy source arrangement or the optical arrangement causes a width of the at least one second section of the target area to be at least 50 μm in width and at most 300 μm in width.   
     
     
         111 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the energy source arrangement is an ablative laser. 
     
     
         112 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the energy source arrangement is a carbon dioxide laser. 
     
     
         113 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the energy source arrangement is a Er:YAG laser. 
     
     
         114 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the optical arrangement prevents at least 0.1% of the target area from being exposed to at least the portion of the electromagnetic radiation. 
     
     
         115 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the optical arrangement prevents at most 90% of the target area from being exposed to at least the portion of the electromagnetic radiation. 
     
     
         116 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the optical arrangement includes a masking arrangement which is configured to mask at least one the portion of the at least second section of the target area such that the electromagnetic radiation is prevented from affecting the of the at least second section of the target area. 
     
     
         117 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , further comprising a case having an aperture formed in a sidewall of the case, wherein the case contains the optical arrangement, and wherein at least one of the optical arrangement is in registration with the aperture. 
     
     
         118 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the optical arrangement comprises a beam collimator. 
     
     
         119 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the optical arrangement comprises optics components. 
     
     
         120 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein the width of the at least one second section of the target area is formed by a shortest distance between edges of neighboring ones of exposed areas in the at least one first section of the target area. 
     
     
         121 . The apparatus of  claim 110 , wherein a percentage of the target area of the skin that is exposed to the electromagnetic radiation is between 20% and 40%. 
     
     
         122 . An apparatus for treating dermatological conditions, comprising:
 an energy source arrangement configured to provide an electromagnetic radiation;   an optical arrangement configured to prevent at least one portion of a target area of skin from being exposed to at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation;   wherein at least one of the energy source arrangement or the optical arrangement configures the radiation to at least one of thermally damage or ablate a region of the skin extending from a surface of the skin to a particular depth within the dermis, and   wherein at least one of the energy source arrangement or the optical arrangement causes a width of the portion of the target area to be at least 50 μm in width and at most 300 μm in width.   
     
     
         123 . An apparatus for treating dermatological conditions, comprising:
 an energy source arrangement configured to provide an electromagnetic radiation;   an optical arrangement configured to (i) provide the electromagnetic radiation to a plurality of exposure areas on a surface of a skin, and (ii) cause the exposure areas to be separate from one another such with at least one portion of the surface of the skin is unexposed to at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation;   wherein at least one of the energy source arrangement or the optical arrangement configures the radiation to at least one of thermally damage or ablate exposure areas extending from the surface of the skin to a particular depth within the dermis, and   wherein at least one of the energy source arrangement or the optical arrangement causes an average distance between nearest edges of individual ones of the exposure areas to be between about 100 μm and about 500 μm.   
     
     
         124 . The apparatus of  claim 123 , wherein a smallest dimension of the exposure areas along the skin surface is between about 1 μm and about 500 μm. 
     
     
         125 . The apparatus of  claim 123 , wherein the optical arrangement is configured to expose a percentage of the exposure area to the electromagnetic radiation that is between 20% and 40%. 
     
     
         126 . The apparatus of  claim 123 , wherein the portion of the electromagnetic radiation that is unexposed to the electromagnetic radiation has a width of about 100 μm and about 500 μm between the nearest edges of the individual ones of tho exposure areas.