HK1094413B - A pad for use in removing pigments from a tattooed section of skin - Google Patents

Description

Liner for removing pigments from tattooed areas of the skin

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of colorant removal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of removing pigments from a pigmented section of skin, preferably a tattoo.

Background

Tattoos are created by injecting ink into the skin. Most currently, the injection of ink is accomplished using one or more needles attached to a device. Such a device will hereinafter be referred to as a skin puncturing device. The skin puncturing device is preferably, but not limited to, a hand-held device. The skin puncturing device moves the needle along the longitudinal axis of the needle, similar to the movement of a needle in a sewing machine. Typically, the skin puncturing device moves the needle at a rate of several oscillations per minute (e.g., the needle punctures the skin at a rate of 50 to 3000 times per minute). Prior to penetration of the needle into the skin, the needle is immersed in a suitable solution containing a colorant (e.g., ink) and the solution is then drawn up through a suitable tubing system of the skin puncturing device. Alternatively, the solution may be supplied to the needle through a capsule (capsule) adapted to be connected to the skin puncturing device. After obtaining the solution, the skin surface is pierced with a skin puncturing device to allow the micron-sized insoluble ink particles to enter the dermis layer (i.e., dermis) of the skin, preferably about 1 mm deep. As a result, the ink does not stay in the epidermis, but is mixed with the cells in the dermis. Because the dermal cells are relatively fixed, the tattoo ink remains in the dermis and thereby completes the tattoo.

For various reasons, people wish to remove tattoos from their skin. However, since tattoos are mixed with cells in the dermis, their removal is not easy. There are several methods of tattoo removal in the prior art, which are often invasive, some of which even require surgery and may cause pain. These known methods are:

skin abrasion, in which the skin is "sanded" (i.e. scraped) to remove surfaces bearing tattoos;

cryosurgery, in which the area where the tattoo is located is frozen and then removed; and

excision, in which the skin surgeon removes the tattoo with a scalpel and then closes the wound (in some cases involving large tattoos it may be necessary to transplant the skin from other parts of the body).

However, these tattoo removal methods are painful and may also result in scarring.

Other methods of tattoo removal use lasers. Lasers offer an option other than the above-described methods without bleeding and may also have fewer side effects. Each removal process is completed in one treatment or a series of treatments. The patient may or may not require topical or local anesthesia. The laser removes tattoos by generating short intense light pulses that penetrate the top layers of the skin and are selectively absorbed by the tattoo pigments. This laser energy causes the tattoo pigment to break down into smaller particles that are removed by the body's immune system. There is still the possibility of scarring with the use of lasers. Moreover, it is difficult to remove coloring materials such as yellow and green coloring materials with laser. These colors selectively absorb laser light and can only be treated by laser light selected based on the color of the colorant. Moreover, the laser method has side effects, which may cause, for example, hyperpigmentation (hyperpigmentation), i.e., excessive skin color in the treated area, and hypopigmentation, i.e., lack of color of normal skin in the treated area.

In addition, removal of tattoos by the above methods requires a long time and is expensive.

All of the above methods fail to provide a satisfactory solution to the problem of removing the stained area of skin in a simple manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of removing a pigmented section of skin that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive method of removing pigmented sections of skin.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a method of removing pigment from a pigmented section of skin comprising: a) providing a skin puncturing device with at least one needle; b) piercing the skin with said skin piercing device at said stained area, preferably but not limited to wherein said skin piercing device is free of ink, and optionally injecting an aqueous material; c) providing a pad comprising one or more materials capable of absorbing moisture from a mixture of said aqueous material and said colorant in said region, or from a mixture of said colorant and cellular fluids in said region; and d) bandaging said punctured skin with said liner and thereby allowing colour from said areas to migrate from their location to the outer layers of the skin.

The term "aqueous mixture of tattoo ink" or "colorant" refers to a mixture of small particles with water, which may or may not contain some dissolved colorant. The terms "ink" and "colorant" are used interchangeably herein.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises applying one or more antiseptic and/or antibiotic materials to the punctured skin. The one or more antiseptic and/or antibiotic materials are preferably applied to the punctured area of skin by bandaging the area with a pad containing the material. Alternatively, the antiseptic and/or antibiotic material is applied directly to the punctured area of skin.

Preferably the skin puncturing device is an electrically powered tattooing device.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each needle may be solid or hollow.

Preferably, the skin puncturing device is further provided with a suction means.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises sucking pigment from the punctured skin with a suction means before and during the bandaging of the punctured skin.

The injection of the aqueous material into the skin is preferably performed by dipping the needle into the aqueous material before piercing the skin. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the aqueous material is selected from the group consisting of saline, water or other suitable aqueous solution or liquid.

The present invention also relates to an absorbent pad suitable for absorbing moisture from an aqueous mixture of tattoo ink or other coloring material. Preferably, the adsorbent pad further comprises one or more antiseptic and/or antibiotic materials.

Drawings

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a skin puncturing device with a suction tool;

FIG. 2A is a photograph of an eagle head of a tattoo on an arm;

FIGS. 2B and 2C are photographs of the eagle head of FIG. 2A after a portion thereof has been removed by the method of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention relates to a method of removing pigment from a pigmented section of skin by puncturing the section of skin and then bandaging the punctured section with a suitable absorbent pad. The pad must contain one or more materials, such as saline, suitable for causing the pigments in the punctured section to migrate to the outer layer of the skin. Preferably, but not limitatively, the pad is an absorbent pad adapted to absorb moisture from an aqueous mixture of tattoo ink. The aqueous mixture is produced in the punctured area by the cellular fluids or by the addition of an aqueous medium. Of course, materials suitable for causing the pigments of the punctured section to migrate to and be adsorbed to the outer layer of the skin may be in the form of a solution, a solid material or a combination of solution and solid material.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pad is designed so that it enables the aqueous mixture containing the tattoo ink to migrate to the outer layer of the punctured area of the skin. For example, the absorbent pad consists of a sterile saline or salt-based granular paste wrapped in a fabric bag having dimensions of 10cm x 10 cm.

The absorbent pad should be in direct contact with the surface of the punctured area, preferably, but not limited to, covered with a suitable dressing such as a semi-permeable membrane. The aqueous mixture and cellular debris from the punctured area of the skin is drawn into the pad. The pad should be removed before it is fully saturated and when it is discolored by secretions, or after a period of time, so that the saline does not damage the skin. For example, a pad measuring 10cm x 10cm and weighing 3 grams should absorb about 5 grams of the aqueous mixture in less than 20 minutes when containing 2.5 grams of saline.

Preferably the adsorbent material should be evenly distributed within the pad or at least on one side thereof.

Of course, the adsorbent pad may contain one or more antiseptic and/or antibiotic materials such as benzalkonium chloride based creams (e.g., Bepanthen), silver sulfadiazine based creams (e.g., Silverol), etc., or these antiseptic materials may be applied separately. For example, the absorbent pad or other separate pad may contain pastes and/or creams known in the art such as Vitamerfen, Bepanthen, Silverol, etc., or the antiseptic cream may be applied directly to the area being treated and then covered with the pad.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the skin can be punctured by a skin puncturing device with at least one needle, such as a skin puncturing device for performing tattoos, which device is operated in the same manner as when performing tattoos. An aqueous solution or other material preferably but not restrictively free of colorant may alternatively be used in place of the ink (used in the tattoo), which may allow the pad containing one or more materials to absorb moisture from the mixture of the aqueous solution and colorant produced in the punctured area. If no aqueous solution is used to pierce the skin, the pad is able to absorb moisture only from the mixture of colorant (e.g., tattoo ink) and cellular fluids released at the pierced area. Preferably, but not limitatively, an aqueous solution is injected into the punctured area. For example, injection of the aqueous solution into the skin is accomplished by dipping the needle of the skin puncturing device into the aqueous solution and then re-puncturing the skin. The aqueous solution or material may be saline, water, or other suitable aqueous solution or liquid.

The penetration depth of the needle into the skin in a conventional lancing device is adjustable. Preferably, but not by way of limitation, the needle does not penetrate the subdermal layer of the skin so that further damage to the skin is not caused by the method of the present invention. Each needle of the skin puncturing device may be solid or hollow.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the skin puncturing device is further provided with suction means for sucking skin pigments during the puncturing of the skin. Fig. 1 schematically shows a skin puncturing device 10 with such a suction tool. The skin puncturing device 10 comprises a suction means 12 which is connected to the needle 11 via a catheter system (not shown) of the skin puncturing device 10.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method comprises "encouraging infection" which may help the migration of the colorant to the outer layer of the skin. This may be treated by applying an antibiotic material to the punctured area of the skin, preferably after removal of the absorbent pad, until the majority of the colorant is removed from the area of the skin. This process may take several hours to several days.

Fig. 2A is a photograph of an eagle head tattooed on an arm. Fig. 2B and 2C are photographs of the head of the eagle of fig. 2A after a portion (i.e., tattooed feathers of the neck of the eagle) has been removed by the method of the present invention.

The foregoing examples and description are, of course, provided for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention can be implemented in a number of different ways using more than one of the techniques described above, all without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (4)

1. An absorbent pad for use after treatment with a lancing device to remove pigments from a tattoo area of skin, said pad being capable of absorbing moisture from an aqueous mixture of tattoo ink and comprising one or more materials capable of causing migration of said pigments and cellular fluids released from cells in the tattoo area of skin into an outer layer of said skin;

wherein the aqueous mixture is produced by cellular fluids at the tattooed area of the skin with or without the addition of an aqueous medium;

characterized in that at least one of said one or more materials is a salt-based granular paste.

2. The adsorbent pad of claim 1 further comprising one or more corrosion resistant materials.

3. The adsorbent pad of claim 1, further comprising one or more antibiotic materials.

4. An absorbent pad for use after treatment with a lancing device to remove colorant from a tattoo area of skin, said pad being capable of absorbing moisture from an aqueous mixture of tattoo ink and comprising one or more materials capable of causing migration of said colorant and cellular fluids released from cells in the tattoo area of skin into an outer layer of said skin, wherein a 3 gram pad comprising 2.5 grams of saline having a size of 10cm x 10cm draws about 5 grams of the aqueous mixture into said pad in a time period of no more than 20 minutes.