AUTOMATIC FIRING APPARATUS FOR LASER SKIN TREATMENT OVER LARGE AREAS

摘要

Laser skin treatment apparatus includes a handpiece for delivering laser-radiation pulses from a laser to an area of skin being treated. The area being treated is larger than an area treatable in a single firing of the laser. The larger area is treated by treating adjoining sub-areas within the larger area by repeated firings of the laser. The laser is fired automatically depending on the position of the handpiece in the larger area. Several arrangements for determining the position of the handpiece are disclosed. These include optical detection by the handpiece of indicia drawn on the skin being treated; optical, magnetic, or mechanical detection of indicia on a separate guide for the handpiece or on a roller attached to the handpiece; and detection by determining time of travel of signals from a transponder in the handpiece to a fixed reference plane.