APPARATUS FOR AESTHETIC TREATMENT.
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND ART.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for aesthetic treatment of the type comprising means for releasing active products on the epidermis of an area of the body to be subjected to the treatment and means for cooling said area of the body.
As is well known, to treat some blemishes of the body, such as subcutaneous fat or cellulite, lines, poor tone, etc., specific iced active substances are made to penetrate through the epidermis. Devices constituted by a support provided with a grip and able to sustain a small block of a frozen solution are known. Generally, said solution is prepared diluting a predetermined quantity of active product in a solvent, preferably distilled water, and is then frozen.
During use, said small block of frozen solution is rubbed on the epidermis of the anatomical area of interest and starts to melt, releasing the medicinal substance that can thereby penetrate and spread into the area to be treated.
The devices for aesthetic treatment briefly described above, however, have some drawbacks.
A first drawback is the fact that the frozen solution, when it liquefies, wets also anatomical areas that originally were not involved in the aesthetic treatment, causing inevitable product wastage and thus diminishing the effectiveness of the active ingredient on the area to be treated. Moreover, once it is liquefied, the solution starts to drip, spotting the clothes of the person subjected to the treatment and the bed he/she lies on, etc.
Disadvantageously, said devices, using pre-dosed solutions, do not allow to vary the concentration of the medicinal substance diluted in the solution and hence do not allow to adapt the treatment to the requirements of the person who subjects him/herself thereto. From US Patent 5,840,057, a device for physiotherapy by means of electrophoresis is also known, comprising a container containing a frozen solution composed by an active substance diluted in distilled water with a precise concentration. Said container is provided with a portion able to be gripped and it is used to rub the frozen solution on an anatomical part to be treated. Said device further comprises generic means (iontophoresis) for generating a flow of electrical charges through the anatomical area that is massaged. Said electrical discharges are constituted by ions deriving from the dissociation of the active substance previously diluted in the frozen solution. However, a device according to US Patent 5,840,057 has the same drawbacks noted previously for the aesthetic treatment devices briefly described above. In particular, the drawback relating to the release of active substance on parts of the body originally not involved with the treatment has not been solved. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION. An aim of the present invention is to eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks making available an apparatus for aesthetic treatment, which allows to release the active product directly and exclusively on the anatomical area to be treated.
Another aim is to make available an apparatus for aesthetic treatment which, simultaneously with the release of active product, allows effectively to cool the area of the body to be treated, since the most important element for the effectiveness of the treatment is the cooling action.
Before delivering the product, it is important to bring the body temperature of the area to be treated to a temperature of less than 15°C. In this way, the micro-circulation of blood is stimulated, favouring the absorption and rapid spreading of the active substance throughout the anatomical area of interest. A further aim of the present invention is to propose an apparatus for aesthetic treatment that allows to vary, during the treatment, the concentration of the active substance, allowing to adapt the treatment to the requirements of the person who subjects him/herself thereto. Said aims are fully achieved by the apparatus for aesthetic treatment of the present invention, which is characterised by the contents of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Further characteristics and advantages shall become more readily apparent from the detailed description of two preferred embodiments illustrated, purely by way of non limiting example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of an apparatus for aesthetic treatment according to the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of an apparatus for aesthetic treatment according to the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION.
With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the apparatus for aesthetic treatment according to the invention is globally indicated with the number 1.
The apparatus 1 comprises at least a tank 2 containing an active cosmetic product for aesthetic treatment or a medicinal treatment and at least a dispenser 3 for spraying said product onto an anatomical area to be treated.
The dispenser 3 has at least a portion 3 a operatively active on the anatomical area to be treated and at least a portion 3b able to be gripped, or handle. In the illustrated embodiment, said portion 3a is substantially plate-like and positioned in correspondence with a first end 3c of the dispenser 3. In particular the portion 3 a is an active electrode, connected to a generator 16 of pulsed unidirectional current or direct current or semi-bi-directional current (iontophoresis) for delivering the product. The electrode 3a is preferably holed to allow the passage of the product, but it can also lack holes if the product is fed onto the body flowing underneath the electrode or by other manual application means. The electrode 3 a in the illustrated embodiment is a part of the dispenser 3, but it can also separated therefrom.
The reference number 17 indicates a passive electrode or reference plate, normally positioned in contact with a contiguous neutral area of the body, i.e. one not involved in the treatment. The passive electrode 17 normally has far greater surface extension than the active electrode 3 a.
The apparatus 1 is provided with at least a first conduit 4 for connecting the tank 2 to the dispenser 3 and with heat regulating means, operatively active on the portion 3a of the dispenser 3. Said heat regulating means comprise at least a cryogenic cell 5 positioned in correspondence with the first end 3c of the dispenser 3 and connected to the portion 3a, to cool it. The cryogenic cell substantially comprises at least a Peltier electrical circuit, connected, through electrical cables, to a power supply unit 6 external to the dispenser 3. During operation, the Peltier electrical circuit produces heat and, to avoid the overheating of the electrical components of the circuit, the apparatus 1 is provided with cooling means.
In particular, said cooling means comprise at least a second conduit 7 containing a refrigerating fluid 7. Said conduit 7 defines a closed cooling loop provided with at least a portion operatively active on the electrical circuit. Said cooling means further comprise a first source of pressure 8 slaved to the closed loop to cause the refrigerating fluid to circulate therein. Moreover, a heat exchanger 9 slaved to the closed loop and positioned in series to the pressure source 8 is also present, to cool the refrigerating fluid after it has interacted with the electrical circuit. The apparatus 1 is also provided with means for dosing the medicinal or cosmetic product on the anatomical area to be subjected to the treatment. With reference to Figure 1, said means for dosing the product comprise at least a dispensing element 10 fastened on the dispenser 3 and movable at least between a first position corresponding to minimal or zero dispensing of the product and a second position corresponding to maximum dispensing thereof. Said dispensing element 10 is fastened superiorly to the dispenser 3 in proximity to the grip portion 3b and is therefore easily operated by the operator who administers the aesthetic treatment.
With reference to Figure 1, the apparatus 1 comprises a second pressure source 11 operatively active on the tank 2 to maintain the medicinal product under pressure. Said second pressure source 11 is constituted by a plunger 12 having a first end acting on the medicinal product and a second end fastened to a pre-loaded spring 13, which exerts a pre-set force on said plunger 12.
With reference to Figure 2, which shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of the apparatus 1 according to the invention, said means for dosing the medicinal product comprise at least a dosing unit 14 fastened to the conduit 4 and interposed between the tank 2 and the dispenser 3. Said dosing unit 14 is operated electrically by means of a push- button 15 positioned on the dispenser 3 in proximity to the grip portion 3b.
According to a further embodiment variation, not illustrated herein, the dispenser 3 can be constituted simply by a syringe that injects the product either through the holes (or the hole) of the electrode 3a or underneath the electrode itself directly on the body area tp be treated. The operation of the apparatus is as follows. Before starting the treatment, the Peltier electrical circuit cools the cryogenic cell 5 and, consequently, also the plate-shaped portion 3a connected thereto.
Subsequently, the plate-shaped portion 3 a of the dispenser 3 is positioned on the anatomical area to be subjected to the aesthetic treatment and, when the area has reached the required cooling, the operator operates the dispensing element 10 or the push-button
15 (or the syringe), applying thereon a dose of product (be it an active cosmetic product or a medicinal product), which is not frozen and hence does not undergo the stress of freezing. In the first case the operator, operating the dispensing element 10 and moving it between the two end positions activates the dispensing of the product and regulates the released quantity. In the second case, instead, the operator, operating the push-button 15, commands the dosing unit 14, which dispenses a pre-determined quantity of the product.
Lastly, in the case of the syringe, the operator operators the syringe to inject the product through the electrode 3a or underneath the electrode.
After dispensing the product, which is preferably delivered by iontophoresis in a substantially known fashion, the operator rubs, with the plate-like portion 3a of the dispenser 3, the area of the body subjected to the treatment, to favour the absorption of the medicinal product and its rapid diffusion.
One should stress the fact that, unlike the aforementioned US 5,840,057, the product is not frozen, because this is not useful for the purposes of the treatment. Instead, it is important to lower the temperature not of the product but rather of the body area to be subjected to the treatment, and in particular it is important for the temperature to drop below 15°C to favour an enhanced micro-circulation.
The invention achieves important advantages.
A first advantage is represented by the fact that, cooling the area to be treated without using a frozen solution, one prevents any product wastage, caused by the dripping deriving from the melting of said solution in contact with the body; therefore, with the same quantity of product one obtains a far more effective action. With respect to the quantity of product used in the prior art, with the present invention it is sufficient to use only about 1/20 of the product for the same effect. A second advantage is represented by the fact that, since there is no dripping, the clothes of the person who subjects him/herself to the treatment are preserved from any spots. Advantageously, the presence of a dispensing element, or possibly of a dosing unit, allows to vary the quantity of product dispensed, adapting the treatment to the requirements of the person who subjects him herself thereto. Conveniently, the presence of a movable dispenser, provided with an easily gripped portion, allows to perform the aesthetic treatment on any area of the body. The invention thus conceived can be subject to numerous modifications and variations, without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all components can be replaced with technically equivalent elements and the size may be any, depending on requirements.
In particular, the presence of a temperature sensor (for instance, infrared) can be provided for measuring cutaneous temperature, and a corresponding display can be provided on the grip to indicate to the operator when the most suitable moment for applying the product occurs.