The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 09, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 09, 1996
James C Weaver, Sudbury, MA (US);
Uwe Pliquett, Bielefeld-Grossdornberg, DE;
Timothy Vaughan, Chestnut Hill, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for localized electroporation of tissue. An apparatus includes a perforate electrically insulating layer, a first electrode at a first side of the perforate electrically insulating layer and a second electrode at a second side of the perforate electrically insulating layer. An electric field extending between the first and second electrodes will preferentially extend through perforations of the electrically insulating layer. The electric field thereby causes electroporation of tissue that is proximate to the first electrode and is partitioned from the electrically insulating layer and the second electrode by the first electrode. The apparatus controllably limits the depth of the electric field within a tissue, such as skin, thereby electroporating a surface layer, such as a stratum corneum layer of the skin, without stimulating submerged nerve endings within the skin. Sensation of the applied voltage and especially pain sensation can thereby be controlled by the invention.