METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EMR TREATMENT
A method and apparatus are provided for performing a therapeutic treatment on a patient's skin by concentrating applied radiation of at least one selected wavelength at a plurality of selected, three-dimensionally located, treatment portions, which treatment portions are within non-treatment portions. The ratio of treatment portions to the total volume may vary from 0.1% to 90%, but is preferably less than 50%. Various techniques, including wavelength, may be utilized to control the depth to which radiation is concentrated and suitable optical systems may be provided to concentrate applied radiation in parallel or in series for selected combinations of one or more treatment portions.
1 . A method of treating a subject's skin, comprising:
applying treatment radiation to the skin so as to generate, following the application of the radiation, a plurality of regions within a volume of the skin such that each region is separated from another region by an untreated portion of the volume,
wherein said regions comprise a fraction of said volume in a range of about 1% to about 50%, and
wherein at least some of the regions extend from a surface of the skin to a depth below the surface.
2 . A method for dermatological treatment of a patient's skin, comprising:
concentrating treatment radiation onto a plurality of columnar segments within a volume of the skin such that following application of the radiation each columnar segment corresponds to a region separated from another region by an untreated portion of said skin, wherein the columnar segments extend from a surface of the skin to a depth below the surface.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said regions comprise a fraction of said volume in a range of about 1% to about 50%.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein said treatment portions comprise a fraction of said volume in a range of about 10% to about 30%.
5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the depth of columnar segments ranges from about 0.5 mm to about 4 mm.
6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein each columnar segment exhibits a cross-sectional diameter in a range of about 50 microns to about 1000 microns.
7 . The method of claim 2 , wherein each columnar segment exhibits a cross-sectional diameter in a range of about 100 microns to about 0.5 millimeters.
8 . A method of treating a subject's skin, comprising:
applying energy to the skin so as to generate a plurality of regions within a volume of the skin such that each region is separated from another region by an untreated portion of the volume,
wherein the regions extend from a surface of the skin to a depth below the surface.