Radiation-Based Dermatological Devices and Methods

1 . A self-contained, hand-held device for providing laser-based dermatological treatments, the device comprising:

a device body configured to be handheld by a user;

a laser supported in the device body, the laser including a laser beam source configured to emit a laser beam;

an application end configured to be manually moved across the skin during a treatment session;

electronics configured to control the laser beam source to deliver the laser beam to the skin at a delivered radiation intensity at the skin sufficient to provide an effective dermatological treatment;

wherein the device includes no optics downstream of the laser beam source; and

wherein the laser beam emitted from the application end of the device meets the Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the delivered radiation intensity at a treatment location on the skin is at least 1 J/cm2.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the delivered radiation intensity at a treatment location on the skin is at least 5 J/cm2.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the delivered radiation intensity at a treatment location on the skin is at least 10 J/cm2.

5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein:

the laser beam source has an emitter surface; and

the emitter surface is arranged such that when the application end is in contact with the skin, the emitter surface is spaced from the skin surface by less than 10 mm.

6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein:

the laser beam source has an emitter surface; and

the emitter surface is arranged such that when the application end is in contact with the skin, the emitter surface is spaced from the skin surface by less than 2 mm.

7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the laser beam is divergent in at least one direction upon incidence with the skin surface.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the laser beam is divergent in at least one direction by at least 25 degrees upon incidence with the skin surface.

9 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams to the skin to generate an array of treatment spots on the skin, wherein adjacent treatment spots generated on the skin are spaced apart from each other by areas of non-treated skin between the adjacent treatment spots.

10 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to:

determine a current setting for at least one first operational parameter of the device; and

based at least on the current setting for the at least one first operational parameter, automatically determine and affect an adjusted setting for at least one second operational parameter of the device, such that based at least on the current setting for the at least one first operational parameter and the adjusted setting for at least one second operational parameter, the emitted laser beam meets Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

11 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to automatically select or adjust at least one operational parameter of the laser such that the emitted laser beam meets Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

12 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to:

pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams; and

automatically select or adjust at least a pulse duration of the laser such that the radiation of the pulsed laser beams meets Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

13 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to:

pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams; and

automatically select or adjust at least a pulse repetition frequency of the laser such that the radiation of the pulsed laser beams meets Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

14 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to:

pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams; and

automatically select or adjust at least a drive current supplied to the laser such that the radiation of the pulsed laser beams meets Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

15 . The device of claim 1 , comprising electronics programmed to:

pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams; and

automatically select or adjust the total pulse energy delivered at each location on the skin.

16 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a control system configured to prevent or reduce the likelihood of over-treatment of a location on the skin.

17 . The device of claim 1 , comprising:

electronics programmed to pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams to the skin to generate treatment spots on the skin; and

a control system configured to prevent or reduce the likelihood of treatment spots overlapping each other.

18 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a control system including:

an eye safety sensors configured to generate signals; and

electronics configured to control at least one operational parameter of the laser based on the signals from the eye-safety sensor.

19 . A self-contained, hand-held device for providing laser-based dermatological treatments, the device comprising:

a device body configured to be handheld by a user;

a laser supported in the device body, the laser including a laser beam source configured to emit a laser beam;

an application end configured to be manually moved across the skin during a treatment session;

electronics configured to pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams; and

wherein each pulsed laser beam has the same, fixed propagation path with respect to the device body; and

wherein the radiation of the pulsed laser beams emitted from the application end of the device meets the Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

20 . A self-contained, hand-held device for providing a laser-based fractional treatment in the skin, the device comprising:

a device body configured to be handheld by a user;

a laser supported in the device body, the laser including a laser beam source configured to emit a laser beam;

an application end configured to be manually moved across the skin during a treatment session;

electronics programmed to pulse the laser during the treatment session such that the laser beam source emits a sequence of pulsed laser beams to the skin to generate an array of treatment spots on the skin, wherein adjacent treatment spots generated on the skin are spaced apart from each other by areas of non-treated skin between the adjacent treatment spots;

wherein the device includes no optics downstream of the laser beam source; and

wherein the radiation of the pulsed laser beams emitted from the application end of the device meets the Class 1M or better eye safety classification per the IEC 60825-1.

21 . A self-contained, hand-held device for providing laser-based dermatological treatments, the device comprising:

a device body configured to be handheld by a user;

a laser supported in the device body, the laser including a laser beam source configured to emit a laser beam;

an application end configured to be manually moved across the skin during a treatment session;

electronics configured to control the laser beam source to deliver the laser beam to the skin at a delivered radiation intensity at the skin sufficient to provide an effective dermatological treatment;

wherein the device includes no optics downstream of the laser beam source; and

wherein the laser beam emitted from the application end of the device falls outside the IEC 60825-1 Class 1M eye safety classification by less than 50% of the difference to the next lower IEC 60825-1 classification threshold.

22 . The device of claim 21 , wherein the laser beam emitted from the application end of the device falls outside the IEC 60825-1 Class 1M eye safety classification by less than 25% of the difference to the next lower IEC 60825-1 classification threshold.