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System and method for treatment of uvula and soft palate to reduce tissue laxityRelated Patent Categories: Surgery, Instruments, Light ApplicationSystem and method for treatment of uvula and soft palate to reduce tissue laxity description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060195073, System and method for treatment of uvula and soft palate to reduce tissue laxity. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This application claims priority to prior provisional application Ser. No. 60/642,357, filed Jan. 7, 2005, and which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This present invention relates to treatment of the uvula and soft palate, with the purpose of reducing the amount of tissue laxity, to reduce snoring. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In the past a number of different procedures have been used to attempt to reduce snoring by reducing the laxity of the tissue in the soft palate and uvula areas. These procedures include surgical methods such as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) with cold steel, RF uvulopalatopharyngolasty using radio frequency, laser assisted uvula platoplasty (LUPP), using relatively extensive laser incisions, injection snoreplasty with a sclerotherapy agent and laser soft palate stiffening with implantable woven inserts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,870 describes systems for ablating and removing uvula and soft palate tissue for reducing snoring. [0004] Embodiments of the system and method described herein provide for different anti-snoring treatments which are minimally-invasive, have low intervention risk, can be performed in an office setting, and provide for significantly decreased morbidity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a patient's open mouth, illustrating a multispot treatment area covering portions of the soft palate and uvula. [0006] FIG. 2 is schematic side view of a patient's head and open mouth, further illustrating the multispot treatment area shown in FIG. 1. [0007] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate first and second embodiments, respectively, of systems useful for creating treatment spots. [0008] FIGS. 5 and 6 schematically illustrate the use of beam splitting devices to create patterns of treatment spots. [0009] FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of a system useful for creating treatment spots. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0010] FIGS. 1 and 2 are illustrations of a patient's open mouth, in which area A generally corresponds to an area of the uvula and the soft palate area. Snoring can result from lax or redundant tissue in the tissue of the soft palate and uvula, and in many cases snoring can be reduced or eliminated by reducing the laxity of the tissue in these areas. Embodiments herein provide for safe and non-invasive, or relatively non-invasive, systems and methods for creating thermal damage to the soft plate and/or uvula. Depending on the parameters of the applied energy, the thermal damage can reduce snoring in one or more of a variety of ways. For example, in some embodiments the thermal damage diminishes snoring by inducing fibrosis in the thermally damaged tissue, thus reducing the laxity of the tissue in these areas. In other methods, the thermal damage causes tissue necrosis. Over time the necrosed tissue is absorbed by the body, thus reducing the volume of the area treated. Still other methods use high intensity energy to vaporize tissue, thus volumetrically reducing the tissue. [0011] The disclosed embodiments employ systems and methods for applying electromagnetic energy (including, but not limited to, laser energy or electromagnetic energy in the infrared and/or near-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum) to the tissue of the soft palate and/or uvula (or other tissues associated with snoring, such as the nasal turbinates) in order to promote rigidity or stiffness of the tissue, or to volumetrically reduce the tissue. [0012] According to a first exemplary method, laser energy is used to produce a pattern of 10 um to 1 mm thermally damaged or ablated spots ("treatment spots") in soft palate and/or uvula tissues. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of multiple spots S formed by laser energy applied to area A of tissue. The regions of tissue surrounding and between the spots S include viable tissue. [0013] The spots S may be formed simultaneously or sequentially. Tissue damage within these spots preferably extends to a depth of 0.1 mm to 5 mm. The laser wavelength, fluence and pulse characteristics are chosen to be haemostatic so bleeding is either not present or minimized. Many wavelengths are suitable for the procedure, including but not limited to 532 nm, 910 nm, 1064 nm, 1540 nm, and 2100 nm. The small dimension of the individual spots allows relatively quick healing of the mucosal and sub mucosal tissues. The pattern density can be varied to optimize the results. The ratio of treated to untreated area within a treatment area is preferably less than 50% and most preferably less than 20%. One example of a treatment method of this type uses the following specifications: [0014] wavelength 532 nm [0015] spot size 0.5 mm [0016] pattern density 10% [0017] pulse width 3 ms [0018] fluence 30 J/cm 2. [0019] Modifications to the first embodiment may be made so as to thermally damage the sub mucosa while preventing or minimizing damage to the mucosa. A modification of this type might include clamping or cooling of the mucosal layer while the laser energy is being deposited. This would result in the damage occurring primarily or exclusively in the sub mucosa. As one example, cooling might be achieved by passing the laser energy through a cooled sapphire window using a cooling system of the type described below in connection with FIG. 7. [0020] According to the first exemplary method, the lax soft palate tissue increases in rigidity or stiffness upon treatment due to both collagen heating peripheral to the spots and stiffening or volumetric reduction due to healing of thermally damaged spots and or ablation of tissue within the spots. [0021] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate systems useful in creating multiple treatment spots. These systems use scanner technology to sequentially move a beam of laser light from one tissue spot to the next to create a pre-determined pattern of treated tissue spots. [0022] Referring to FIG. 3, system 10 includes handpiece 12 designed to provide for the delivery of laser light through an optical fiber 14 and an associated optical system to a treatment site. Optical fiber 14 is coupled to a laser light source 16. [0023] A lens 18 forms an image of the optical fiber. A scanning system 19 allows for movement of the image in two-dimensions. In this embodiment, translation of the optical fiber 14 in the direction illustrated by Ti (perpendicular to the plane of the page) will move the image linearly in a first direction, and translation of the lens 16 as illustrated by arrow T2 will move the image linearly in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Although the FIG. 3 embodiments use two linear stepper motors to translate the optical fiber and the lens, other suitable devices include stepper motors, voice coil actuators and/or galvanometer scanners. [0024] Handpiece 12 includes an elongate cannula 21. An optical relay system 20 within the cannula couples the laser energy to the tissue. A mirror 22 at the distal end 24 of the cannula 21 deflects the beam through a window 26 to tissue in the desired tissue area A. Continue reading about System and method for treatment of uvula and soft palate to reduce tissue laxity... Full patent description for System and method for treatment of uvula and soft palate to reduce tissue laxity Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this System and method for treatment of uvula and soft palate to reduce tissue laxity patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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