Dermatological Treatment Device With Real-Time Energy Control

1 . A dermatological treatment device, comprising:

a device body;

a radiation source housed by the device body and configured to emit pulses of treatment light for delivery to the skin to provide a dermatological treatment;

a photo detector housed by the device body and configured to detect light from the skin; and

control electronics housed by the device body and configured to:

during the delivery of a particular treatment light pulse from the radiation source, receive signals from the photo detector;

during the delivery of the particular treatment light pulse, automatically calculate at least one pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the signals received from the photo detector; and

automatically control at least one parameter of the particular treatment light pulse based on the at least one calculated pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse.

2 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the photo detector is configured to detect backscattered treatment light from the skin, the detected backscattered treatment light originating from the particular treatment light pulse.

3 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the photo detector is configured to detect backscattered light from the skin, the detected backscattered treatment light originating from a radiation source other than the radiation source that provides the treatment light pulses.

4 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein automatically controlling at least one parameter of the particular treatment light pulse comprises automatically controlling the operation of the radiation source.

5 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein:

automatically calculating at least one pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse comprises automatically calculating a pulse duration for the particular treatment light pulse; and

automatically controlling at least one parameter of the particular treatment light pulse based on the at least one calculated pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse comprises automatically implementing the calculated pulse duration for the particular treatment light pulse.

6 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein:

automatically calculating at least one pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse comprises automatically calculating a power level of the radiation source for the particular treatment light pulse; and

automatically controlling at least one parameter of the particular treatment light pulse based on the at least one calculated pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse comprises automatically adjusting the power level of the radiation source during the delivery of the particular treatment light pulse based on the calculated power level.

7 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein:

the photo detector is configured to make multiple measurements of detected light during the particular treatment light pulse; and

the control electronics are configured to calculate the pulse duration for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the multiple measurements by the photo detector.

8 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein automatically calculating at least one pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the signals received from the photo detector comprises:

calculating an energy delivered to the skin based on the signals received from the photo detector during the particular treatment light pulse; and

calculating at least one of a pulse duration and a power level for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the calculated energy delivered to the skin.

9 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein automatically calculating at least one pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the signals received from the photo detector comprises:

calculating an energy delivered to the skin based on the signals received from the photo detector during the particular treatment light pulse;

calculating a skin temperature or change in skin temperature based on the calculated energy delivered to the skin; and

calculating at least one of a pulse duration and a power level for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the calculated skin temperature or change in skin temperature.

10 . The dermatological treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the device body comprises a portable, hand-held body.

11 . A method of automated control of a dermatological treatment device, comprising:

operating a radiation source to emit treatment light pulses for delivery to the skin to provide a dermatological treatment;

detecting light from the skin using a photo detector;

during the delivery of a particular treatment light pulse from the radiation source, receiving signals from the photo detector;

during the delivery of the particular treatment light pulse, automatically calculating at least one pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse based at least on the signals received from the photo detector; and

automatically controlling at least one parameter of the particular treatment light pulse based on the at least one calculated pulse parameter value for the particular treatment light pulse.