PELTIER COOLED APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR DERMATOLOGICAL TREATMENT

摘要

An apparatus for treating dermatological conditions with radiation includes aPeltier device (20) for cooling the treatment area of the patient's skin. ThePeltier cooling device has a cold surface in thermal communication with thetreatment area, and a hot surface with an aperture (30) extending between thecold and hot surfaces through which radiation is directed to the treatmentarea. In one embodiment, lens (80) disposed within the aperture (30) of thecooling device distributes the cooling effect to provide substantially uniformcooling across the treatment area. A temperature sensor (70) senses thetemperature of the treatment area, and is used to control the Peltier coolingdevice and/or the radiation source to ensure that the treatment area does notexceed a predetermined temperature. Various radiation sources are suitable foruse with the Peltier cooled apparatus, including lasers and gas dischargelamps such as arc lamps and flash lamps.