TW201325651A - Phototherapy system - Google Patents

Abstract

A phototherapy system is provided. The phototherapy system comprises a location assistance module having at least two projection lamps for location, wherein each projection lamp projects a location light, in a different direction, on a target area to produce a light spot; and a light emitting module, for projecting a therapy light on the target area, having an adjustable focal length.

Description

Phototherapy system

The invention relates to the positioning and focus control technology of a phototherapy system.

Phototherapy is a technique for treating diseases using natural light or artificial light, and has been widely used in the fields of beauty and medical treatment. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a common phototherapy system. The phototherapy system 100 has a light-emitting module 110 at the top thereof, and has a plurality of bulbs for projecting therapeutic light to a specific object (for example, human tissue) placed on an application platform 120 located below.

Different wavelengths of light, whether visible or invisible, can achieve different indications through different physical effects. For example, some chronic, relapsing skin lesions, such as psoriasis, vitiligo, etc., are particularly suitable for treatment with long-wave ultraviolet (UVA). However, although ultraviolet light can treat the above-mentioned specific skin diseases, because of its high radiation energy, if the control of its application range or energy intensity is slightly inadvertent, the skin or tissue can be injured, causing extremely serious side effects. .

Therefore, there is a need for a new phototherapy system that is more easily and accurately controlled.

The invention provides a phototherapy system, comprising: a positioning auxiliary module, comprising at least two positioning light sources for positioning, respectively, projecting a positioning light to a target area in different directions to generate a first spot in the target area; And a second spot, when the positioning auxiliary module is within a predetermined distance range from the target area, the first spot and the second spot are coincident with the target area; and a light emitting module is used for the first The light spot and the second light spot project a therapeutic light to the target area when the second light spot coincides with the target area, wherein the light emitting module has an adjustable focal length.

The following is a description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. The examples are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but are not intended to limit the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

The invention aims to improve the control precision of the phototherapy system by providing a better positioning and focusing mechanism. Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a phototherapy system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The phototherapy system 200 of the present invention may have the appearance of the phototherapy system 100 as shown in Fig. 1, but is not limited thereto. The phototherapy system 200 of the present invention includes at least a positioning assistant module 210, a lighting module 220, and a controller 230. In some embodiments, the phototherapy system 200 of the present invention may further include an image capture module (for example, the position may be equivalent to the positioning assistance module 210, or even integrated with the positioning assistance module 210) The image can be imaged by the target area of the light emitted by the light-emitting module 220, so as to observe the condition of the lesion and the light projection of the treatment object, thereby improving the manipulative performance of the human-machine interface.

The main function of the illumination module 220 of the present invention is to project a "therapy" light, and the main function of the positioning assistance module 210 is to project a "positioning" light. It is worth noting that the higher the radiant energy, the more precisely the light needs to be precisely controlled. Therefore, the present invention is particularly suitable for application as "treatment" by ultraviolet rays (UV, including long-wave ultraviolet UVA, medium-wave ultraviolet UVB, short-wave ultraviolet UVC, etc.). Using light on the phototherapy system. However, in other embodiments, the therapeutic light of the present invention is not necessarily limited to light of a particular wavelength, and may be, for example, infrared (including far infrared, long wave infrared, etc.), various visible light, or even X-rays. In addition, the therapeutic light may be an excitation form of various light waves, that is, laser light (or "laser").

In the present invention, the positioning light is different from the therapeutic light. In some embodiments, if the purpose of locating light is to be recognized by the human eye by an operator of the phototherapy system, it should be visible light, and typically eye-catching red light; in other embodiments, if the light is positioned The purpose is to be automatically recognized by the machine, and the positioning light is not limited to the aforementioned visible light. However, it can be understood that the wavelength of the light must be properly spaced from the therapeutic light to avoid confusion and misjudgment.

As shown in Fig. 2, the present invention may additionally include an application platform 240 for placement of the subject to be treated. For example, the patient can place their head over the application platform 240 and face a particular area of the face for which phototherapy is to be performed toward the illumination module 220. The illumination module 220 of the present invention is directed to projecting a therapeutic light onto a target zone (e.g., a patient's nose region) on the application platform 240. Different from the prior art, the illumination module 220 of the present invention has an adjustable focal length for the purpose of facilitating the operator to accurately control the application range and energy of the therapeutic light. Two embodiments of adjusting the focal length of the light-emitting module 220 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a light emitting module 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the illumination module 220 of the present invention is composed of a plurality of (9) therapeutic light projection lamps 311 to 319 arranged in a matrix, wherein each of the therapeutic light projection lamps 311 to 319 may have Different but fixed focal lengths. The controller 230 of the present invention can control the therapeutic projection lamp having a specific focal length to be turned on or off according to a preset distance range. In other words, in this embodiment, the lighting module 220 has a nine-segment focal length that can be selected by the controller 230. It should be noted that in a preferred embodiment, the "preset distance range" herein may be set to a distance between the therapeutic light projection lamp and the target to be phototherapy, for example, 10 cm to 20 cm, and controlled. The projector 230 can turn on the projector lamp having the same focal length as the preset distance range and turn off the other projector lamps. In this way, the therapeutic light can be focused on the area in which it is applied and the phototherapy is performed at the highest energy. In some embodiments, the controller 230 of the present invention can also control the intensity of the projected light by controlling the number of therapeutic light projection lamps having a specific focal length in the illumination module 220. For example, when a light having a predetermined intensity value is to be projected to the target area, two therapeutic light projection lamps having the correct focal length but the intensity being half of the preset intensity value may be turned on. Specifically, when the light intensity of the two therapeutic light projection lamps that are turned on is less than half of the preset intensity value, the light mixing intensity of the overlapping regions of the light projected by the two will be less than the preset intensity value; When the light intensity of the two therapeutic light projection lamps is greater than half of the preset intensity value, the light mixing intensity of the overlapping regions of the light projected by the two will be greater than the preset intensity value. In a preferred embodiment, the light intensity value of the target zone should be controlled between 80% and 120% of the preset intensity value. It should be noted that the embodiment of FIG. 3A is for convenience of description. The therapeutic light projection lamp in the light-emitting module 220 of the present invention may have various numbers and arrangements, and is not limited to this embodiment.

FIG. 3B is a side view of the light emitting module 220 in another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the light-emitting module 220 includes at least one therapeutic projection lamp 320, which is composed of a light-receiving mirror 322, a condensing mirror 324, and a light source 326. Both the light-receiving mirror 322 and the condensing mirror 324 can be convex lenses. The light-receiving mirror 322 can receive the therapeutic light from the light-emitting source 326, and the collecting mirror 324 can further focus and project the therapeutic light received from the light-receiving mirror 322 to the target area. There is a distance L between the light collecting mirror 322 and the collecting mirror 324. In an embodiment, the distance L can be manually adjusted by an operator of the phototherapy system 200; in another embodiment, the controller 230 can also be adjusted. The distance L, for example, the controller 230 can control the distance L according to a predetermined distance range. Whether the distance L between the light collecting mirror 322 and the collecting mirror 324 is changed manually or automatically, the effect of changing the focal length F of the therapeutic light projection lamp can be achieved. It should be noted that the adjustment distance L includes separately moving the light collecting mirror 322 and separately moving the collecting mirror 324, and also includes moving both at the same time. Those skilled in the art can select the most appropriate method.

In order to more accurately locate the therapeutic light, the positioning aid module 210 of the present invention includes at least two positioning light sources 212 and 214. As shown in FIG. 2, the positioning light sources 212 and 214 respectively project a positioning light to the target area 250 on the application platform 240 in different directions, and respectively generate a spot A and a spot B thereon, when the positioning auxiliary module 210 is positioned. When the target area 250 is within a predetermined distance range, the spot A and the spot B overlap or partially coincide with the target area 250. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the illumination module 220 focuses on where the spot A coincides with the spot B, i.e., focuses on position C. In an embodiment, when the detecting unit (not shown) of the phototherapy system 200 or its operator finds that the spot A and the spot B generated by the positioning light sources 212 and 214 do not coincide, the automatic or manual mode can be adopted. The relative distance between the application platform 240 and the illumination module 220 is adjusted such that the spot A and the spot B do coincide or partially coincide with the position C and fall on the target area 250 where the phototherapy is to be performed. In some embodiments, the positioning light sources 212 and 214 of the positioning assistant module 210 and the lighting module 220 have a fixed relative position. Therefore, when the lighting module 220 is in position with the target area (ie, the foregoing When the preset distance range is changed to adjust the focal length of the projected therapeutic light, the controller 230 of the present invention can also control the positioning light sources 212 and 214 of the positioning auxiliary module 210 according to the preset distance range. The projection uses the direction and angle of the light (the angle α in the figure). However, in some embodiments, the relative position between the light projection lamps 212 and 214 and the illumination module 220 can also be adjusted, and the operator can fine tune the parameters of the overall phototherapy system 200 prior to the official execution of the phototherapy. It can be understood that the use of two positioning light sources in this embodiment is sufficient to achieve the effect of assisting positioning. However, in other embodiments, the positioning light sources may also have more than two.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the present invention can be used for the treatment of light by first positioning the auxiliary module 210 and then turning on the light-emitting module 220 to avoid accidental damage caused by incorrect position of the phototherapy. High energy and hidden danger phototherapy system. In some embodiments, the therapeutic or locating light source of the present invention may be comprised of a light emitting diode for the purpose of achieving power savings. However, the invention is not necessarily limited thereto.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and the invention may be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100. . . Phototherapy system

110. . . Light module

120. . . Implementation platform

200. . . Phototherapy system

210. . . Positioning aid module

220. . . Light module

230. . . Controller

240. . . Implementation platform

212, 214. . . Positioning light source

311~319. . . Light projection lamp

320. . . Treatment spotlight

322. . . Light collector

324. . . Condenser

326. . . light source

A, B. . . Spot

C. . . position

L. . . distance

F. . . focal length

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a common phototherapy system.

Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a phototherapy system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a light emitting module 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a side view of the light emitting module 220 in another embodiment of the present invention.

200. . . Phototherapy system

210. . . Positioning aid module

220. . . Light module

230. . . Controller

240. . . Implementation platform

250. . . Target area

212, 214. . . Positioning light source

A, B. . . Spot

C. . . position

Claims (13)

A phototherapy system includes: a positioning assisting module, comprising at least two positioning light sources for positioning, respectively, projecting a positioning light to a target area in different directions to generate a first spot and a second in the target area; The first spot and the second spot coincide with the target area when the positioning auxiliary module is within a predetermined distance range from the target area. The phototherapy system of claim 1, further comprising: a light emitting module, configured to project a therapeutic light to the target area when the first light spot and the second light spot coincide with the target area, wherein The lighting module has an adjustable focal length. The phototherapy system of claim 1, further comprising: a controller coupled to the positioning auxiliary module, configured to control the positioning light source in the positioning auxiliary module according to the preset distance range Position the direction of the light. The phototherapy system of claim 2, further comprising: a controller coupled to the illumination module for controlling the focal length of the illumination module to project the treatment light according to the preset distance range. The phototherapy system of claim 4, wherein the illumination module comprises a plurality of therapeutic light projection lamps each having a different focal length; and the controller is configured to control the opening and closing of the therapeutic projection lamp having a specific focal length. . The phototherapy system of claim 4, wherein the illumination module comprises at least one therapeutic projection lamp, further comprising: a light receiving mirror for receiving the therapeutic light from a light source; and a collecting mirror, The therapeutic light received from the light receiving mirror is projected to the target area; wherein the controller is configured to control a distance between the light collecting mirror and the collecting mirror, thereby changing a focal length of the therapeutic light projection lamp . The phototherapy system of claim 2, wherein the illumination module comprises a plurality of therapeutic light projection lamps; the phototherapy system further comprises: a controller coupled to the illumination module for The preset light intensity value controls the number of the therapeutic light projection lamps that are turned on in the light emitting module. The phototherapy system of claim 1, wherein the first spot and the second spot are completely coincident with each other in the target area. The phototherapy system of claim 1, wherein the first spot and the second spot are partially coincident with the target zone. The phototherapy system of claim 2, wherein the illumination module focuses on where the spots generated by the at least two positioning light sources coincide. The phototherapy system of claim 1, further comprising an image capturing module for capturing an image of the target area. The phototherapy system of claim 2, wherein the therapeutic light is ultraviolet (UV). The phototherapy system of claim 2, wherein the illumination module comprises at least one therapeutic projection lamp, and the therapeutic projection lamp is composed of a light-emitting diode.