Systems and Methods for the Automated Delivery of Photobiomodulation Therapy to a Patient

Abstract

Systems and methods for treating neuropathic pain by using a photobiomodulation device in a handheld manner. A robotic arm is attached to a light emitting device and controlled, using a visual display, to automatically position the light emitting device over areas to be treated on the patient's body. The automated light delivery process allows a patient to treat large portions of her body in a handsfree manner.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of treating peripheral neuropathic pain of a patient using an automated photobiomodulation delivery system comprising:
 providing the photobiomodulation delivery system, wherein the photobiomodulation delivery system comprises:
 a light emitting device; 
 a robotic member attached to the light emitting device; 
 a visual display configured to acquire and display a depiction of the patient's anatomy, wherein the visual display is further configured to receive an indication of the patient's anatomy to be treated and generate data representative of said anatomy to be treated; and 
 a controller configured to receive the data representative of the anatomy to be treated and, based on the data, control a positioning of the light emitting device using the robotic member; 
   receiving the indication of the patient's anatomy to be treated via the visual display; and   positioning the light emitting device to deliver light to the patient's anatomy to be treated by moving the robotic member using the controller based on the indication of the patient's anatomy to be treated.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to translate data representative of the anatomy to be treated into a plurality of positions of the robotic member. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising a data structure having a plurality of translation data, wherein the controller is configured to translate data representative of the anatomy to be treated into the plurality of positions of the robotic member using the plurality of translation data. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to translate data representative of the anatomy to be treated into a plurality of positions of the robotic member and wherein the plurality of positions of the robotic member would result in the irradiation of nerves or tissues associated with locations of the anatomy to be treated. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein locations of said nerves or tissues are different from the locations of the anatomy to be treated. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calibrating the robotic member. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein calibrating the robotic member comprises moving the visual display over the patient's entire body and causing the controller to associate discernable anatomical landmarks with three dimensional location information. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the anatomical landmarks comprise at least one of the patient's shoulders, hands, legs, feet, armpits, or head. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the three dimensional location information is derived from at least one of an accelerometer sensor, a magnetometer sensor, or a gyroscope sensor. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the accelerometer sensor, the magnetometer sensor, or the gyroscope sensor is positioned on a distal end of the robotic member. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the anatomical landmarks are associated with pixels. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising associating specific visual landmarks with particular positions on the patient's body and associated accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer data. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to move the robotic member in accordance with a predefined set of time periods. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a sequence of illuminating a series of anatomical locations based on the anatomy of the patient. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a time range for illuminating each location of the patient's anatomy to be treated. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to group areas of the patient's anatomy to be treated based on their proximity to each other. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a sequence of illuminating each location of the patient's anatomy to be treated based on a medical requirement for one anatomical location to be illuminated prior to, or after, another anatomical location. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine an optimal angle to emit light on the patient's anatomy to be treated. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the light emitting device comprises a plurality of lights wherein each light in the plurality of lights is configured to be separately controlled by the controller. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the controller is configured to activate a subset of the plurality of lights.