CA1144604A

CA1144604A - Iontophoretic treatment apparatus

Info

Publication number: CA1144604A
Application number: CA000345403A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Robert Tapper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-11-19
Filing date: 1980-02-11
Publication date: 1983-04-12
Also published as: AR220815A1; NL8000785A; GB2063072A; CH644524A5; KR830001560B1; DE3002921A1; GB2063072B; SG71884G; IL59114A0; IE49632B1; IT8019832A0; DE3002921C2; US4325367A; IT1209188B; FI800090A; FI64513C; AT374111B; ES488468A1; MX149171A; IE800248L

Abstract

IONTOPHORETIC TREATMENT APPARATUS

ABSTRACT
This invention relates to a device for conven-iently effecting iontophoretic treatment of the surface of the human body. Prior art devices for the iontophor-etic treatment of parts of the body such as the hands or feet have the undesirable effect of causing the treatment current to flow through parts of the body not being treated. Further, iontophoretic treatment devices known heretofore have been cumbersome and awkward to use, and could only be used by trained medical personnel who had to supervise the administration of the treatment of a patient. The present invention overcomes these defi-ciencies by providing a self-contained iontophoretic treatment apparatus which includes a support structure on which is mounted a pair of electrodes in generally close proximity to one another as well as a source of electrical power and appropriate controls for delivering electrical power to the electrodes. me electrodes are arranged so that, for example, the palm of a single human hand can be placed on the device and simultaneously contact both electrodes, thereby confining the ionto-phonetic treatment to the palm surface of the hand.
Alternative embodiments of the invention specially adapted for treating the plantar surfaces of the feet and the axillae are also disclosed.

Description

IONTOP}I~R~TIG TREAT~ENT ~PPARATUS

~ECHNI~AL FIELD
This inventi~rl relates generally to medical treatment devices, and, more particularly, to a device for conveniently effecting iontophoretic treatment Or the surface of the h~man body.
BACKGROUND OF THE P_IOR ART
Iontophoretic treatments have been popular in the past for their polar effects on ~onized molecules, causing the ionized molecules to be driven through the skin, usually superficially, This phenomenon has been employed, ~or example, for the ~ntroduct~on of medlcants, or even simply moisture, into the skin o~ a patient.
In other applications of iontophoretic treat-mentæ, some ions of zinc and copper can be employed in the treatment of some skin infections, and chlorine ions have been employed for the loosening o~ superficial scars. Further, vasodilatlng drugs can be used in rheumatic and peripheral vasc~lar a~ections, and skln anesthetic drugs. It has been suggested that applica-tion o~ direct current to care~ully selected areas of a living animal can product anesthetic effects. (See Limoge, An introduction to Electroanesthesia, 1975, University Park Press). In still another application o~ iontophoretic treatment, it has been suggested that iontuph~resis can be employed to e~fect mass hair removal from the treated area.
F. Levitt in "Archives of Dermatology", Vol. 98 No. 5, November 1968, reports on pps. 505-7 the produc-tion of long term anhidrosis ~y electric treatment o~
the feet, or hands. However, he disclosed ~nly the use o~ "a two-inch square o~ sheet lead" as an electrode.
~his is "p~aced in a shallow pan oontaining enough water 3~ to ~ust cover the palm or soles"; there being one elec-trode and ~e pan for each palm or sole. ~s test re~ults indicate that the treatment inhibits perspira-tlon (sweat) where the electric current is provided.
It will be noted that, although this arrangement provldes for the de~lred lontophoretic treatment ~ the .

11 ~460~

hands or feet, it has the undesirable effect of causing the treatment current to flow through parts of the body not be~ng treated That is, when this arrangement is being employed for treating a patient's hands, for ex-ample, the treatment current flows from one hand to theother through the pat~ent~s torso. This can have the undesirable effect of disrupting the normal function of vital body organs or interfering with artificial devlces associated with the body, such as an electronic pace-10 maker, or the like.
From the foregoing, it wlll be appreciated thatit is hlghly desirable to be able to adminieter conven-iently iontophoretic treatment to a patient, and it ls particularly desirable for a person who desires ionto-phoretic treatment to be able to safely and convenientlyadminister that treatment to himself. Moreovcr, it is very desirable to confine the iontophoretic treatment only to the area Or the body being treated ln order to avoid unnecessarily disrupting the normal functi~n of 20 vital body organs or any arti~ic1al devices associated therewith.
As mentioned above, iontophoretic treatment devices known heretofore have been cumbersome ~nd ~wkward to use, and could only be useo by trained medical per-25 sonnel who had to supervise the administration of thetreatment o~ a patient. These devices frequently in-cluded wires leading to electrodes which were difflcult to hold in place during the treatment. Moreo~er, the patient frequently had to be placed in an uncomfortable and inconvenient situation during the treatment, such ~s holding hls hands or feet in pans of water, whlch further discouraged use oY iontophoretic treatment by the medical commun~ty. ~astly, iontophoretlc treatment devices which employed a pair of electrodes of the same or very simllar metals have been sub~ect to corrosion o~ those electrodes which results ln a loss of current over the period of treatment thereby decreasing the effectivenese of the treatment.
Accord~ngly~ there has existed a need ~or a 60~

convenient and effectlve ~evice ~or adminlsterln~ lon-tophoretic treatn~nt to the surface of the human body, whlch device can be easil~- and sa~ely used by the person on whom the treatment is ~eing effec~ed, and whlch device confines the treatment current to the area of the body being treated and which is capable of maintaining the treatment current at a relatively high level through-out a normal treatment period. As wiil become apparent from the ~ollowin~, the present invent on satisfies those need~-~RIEF S UMMARY OF THE INVENTION
.
The present invention resides in a new and improved apparatus for effecting iontoph~retic treatment to the su~face of a human body, which apparatus can ~e used safely and convenlently by the person being treated and which may cause the treatment current to flow only through the portion of the body being treated. More_ over, the iontophoretic treatment apparatus of this lnvention is relativel-y inexpensive to manufacture, is trouble ~ree and reliable in use, and is capable of sus.
taining a relatively high level of treatment current over a long period o~ treatment.
More specifically, the preferred embodiments of this inventlon are ~pecially adapted for admini~tering iontophoretic treatment to the palm surface o~ a human hand, the plantar surface of a human ~oot and the axilla areas of the body. For these purposesj three distinct embodiments are provided.
The first embodiment, which ls designed for 3 treat~n~ the palm o~ a hand, is a sel~-contalned, uni-tary de~ice which ~neludes an upper sur~acP sized to correspond generally to the slze of a human hand. Two electrodes are dlsposed on the upper sur~ace in gener-ally close proxlmity to one another and are separated ~y 3~ a narrow ~nsulating member. Further, a manual control 8witch ls also located on the upper sur ace. With th~s arrangement, a user can simply place hls hand palm down on the upper surface of the devlce, extending across the insulating member and slmultaneously c ontac ting both Q-~

electrodes. ~'J simple manual operation of the switch, as with 'he thumb, the user can activat~ the device and thereby easlly and conven~ently administer iontophoretic treatment to himsel~.
The second embodiment is specially adapted for admlnistering iontophoretic treatment to the plantar surface of a foot. This embodiment is similar to the first embod~mént but is longer and can be narrower to accommodate the shape of a human foot. Further, an arched portion is built into the device along one side and generally at the center thereof. This arched por-tion assures contact with the arched portion of the plantar surface of a foot. Also, a control switch can be located on the side of the device for easy manual operatlon.
The third embodiment is substantially different in construction from the first and second embodiments, and is ~pecially adapted for permitting iontophoretic treatment o~ the axilla portions or armpit areas of the body. To accommodate the contour cf the axilla portion of the body, the third embodiment of this lnventlon includes two general y parallel, oppositely facing electrodes mounted on a single unitary support structure.
In order to hold this devlce ln place during treatment, the user simply positions the device ln his armpit and holds his arm down during the treatment In this way, the user's hands are free for other activlties during the iontophoretic treatment of the axilla area.
In all of the above embodiments, a stainless 3 steel electrode is preferably used for the electrode whlch læ primar~ly a cathode, and an aluminum electrode is preferably u~ed for the electrode which ls primarlly an anode. By this arrangement, a mlnlmum o~ corroslon of the electrodes will occur, and the device wlll be able ~o æustain a relatively high operating current over extended periods o~ time.
Other ~eatures and advantages of the present ~nventlon will become ~pparent from the following de-tailed description, taken in con~unctlon with the 0~,~

accompanying drawings~ l~hich illustrate, by way of ex-ample, the principles ~ the invention.
BRIEF DES~RIPTION OF ~rHE ~RAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is a perspe~tive view of an iontophoretlc treatmen~ device embcdying the present invention, and illustrated as arranged for treatment of the palm of a human hand, and havlng portions thereof broken away to reveal parts not ordinarily visible;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partly ln sectlon, of the devlce illustrated in FIG. 1, and taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of a manual control which is provided on the device illustDated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternatlve embodiment of the iontophoretic treatment device of this invention, illustrated as arranged for treating the plantar surface of a human foot, and shown with certa~n parts broken away to reveal parta not ord1narily visible.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another alter-native embodiment o~ the iontophoretic treatment device of this lnvention, illustrated as arranged for treating the axilla area of a body, and having a portion broken away to show a detail of the construction thereof;
FIG. ~a is an enlarged view of the portion o~ the end of the devlce enclosed within the arrow 5a in FIG.
5;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partly in section, showing an arrangement for retention o~
electrode pads wh~ch can be used with the device illus-trated in ~IG. ~;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view o~ the pad reta~ner shown in FIG. 6; ~nd FIG. 8 ls a top view of the pad retainer, taken 5 generally in the direction of the arrow ~ in FIG. ~.
DETAIIED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown ln the exemplary drawings, the present invention i s embodied in an iontophoreti~ treat~ent apparatus, lndicated generally by reference number 10 O~

in FIa. 1, and having a palr of electrodes 12 and 14 ror effecting iontoph~retic treatment. The apparatus 10 includes a source of electrical power, such as a battery 16 (FIG 2), which is connected to a suitable control device 18 that in turn is connected to the electrodes 12 and 14.
The control dev~ce 18 can include a manual con-trol switch 20 for activating and deactivating the ap-paratus 10, and if desired, the switch 20 can lnclude a continuous control device, such as a potentiometer, to permlt manual control o~ the level of treatment current admin1stered by the apparatus 10. Further, each of the electrodes 12 and 14 is provlded with a moisture ab-3 orbing pad 22 and 24 to be interpo~ed between the sur-~ace being treated and the electrodes 12 an~ 14 respec-tively to ensure adequate electrical contact wlth the surface to be treated and to distribute that electrical contact over a greater area of the treated surface.
In accordance with the present invention, an lontophoretic treatment device is provided which ls self-contained and includes a pair of electrodes 12 and 14 mounted on a slngle support structure 26 ln gener-ally clo~e proximity to ~ne another and ~eparated by a relatlvely narrow ~nsulating member 28. The support structure 26 also houses the s~urce of electrical power 16 and the control device 18 for controlling the dellvery of electrical power to the electrodes. The electrodes 12 and 14 are mounted close enough to one another to permit the surface to be treated, ~or example, the palm ~urface of Q human hand, to extend across the insulating member 28 and simultaneously contact both electr~des.
With thls arrangement, a slngle unitary structure can be employed ~or administering lontophoretic treatment to a person, and advantageously, the treatment current 3~ 1~ confined to the area kelng treated To accomplish this desired result, the support structure 26, ln the embodlment illustrated ln FIGS. 1 and 2, ls generally rectangular~ and the electrodes 12 and 14 are mounted on the upper surface of the rectangu-;O-~

lar ~tructure 26. In this instance, the apparatus 10 is specialiy adapted for treating tlle palm surface Or a human hand, and acccrdingly the length and width of the rectangular structure is chosen to correspond generally with the size o~ a human hand.
More speci~ically/ as can b~st be seen in FIG.

2, the support structure 26 is comprised primarily of two members, an upper body member 30 and a lower cover 32. The insulæking member 28 is formed as part of the body 30 and extends across the middle thereo~ separating two upwardly facing recesses 34 and 36 in the bottom of which are recelved the electrodes 12 and 14 respectively.
The support structure 26 is preferably constructed ~
plastlc, and the lower cover 32 can simply ~nap on the 1~ body 30 to close the apparatus 10 in order to pre~ent a neat appearance and protect the contents of the apparatus.
The source of electrical power, or battery 16, i8 recei~ed in a mounting bracket 38 which ls secured to the body 32 in any suitable manner. The pair o~ elec-trlcal leads 40 supply power from the battery to the control device 18 from which power is supplied to the electrodes 12 and 14 through electrical leads 42 and 44, respectlvely. For the purpose of connectlng these leads to the electrodes, a tab 46 is bent downwardly from each electrode and extends through the bottom of the recesses 34 and 36J and the leads 42 and 44 are connected to the downwardly extending tabs 46 ln a conventional manner.
As described in greater detail in the above-mentioned patent applicat1ons, a porous intervenor ormoisture absorbing pad 22 and 24 is interposed between the electrodes 12 and 14 and the surface o~ the user to be treated. As ~urther described ln tne abo~e-mentloned ~atent applications, it ls sometimes desirable for one of these pads tv be relatively thlck while the other need not be thick~ and as can be seen from FI&. 2, provision ~or vary~ng thicknesses in the pads 22 and 24 can easlly be made in the apparatus 10 o~ the present lnvention by Yarying the depth Or the recesses 3~ and 36.

tl~t;O-~

Wh~ e ~ads ~ nd 24 ale used, it ls gener-ally desirable to keep them moist in order to facllitate conduction of electrici~ tnrough the pads. In order to best rctain the mois~ e w~thin the pads, the recesses 34 and 36 are p--eferably water-tight and serve as reser-voirs ~or retention ol~ molslure in the pads. To best serve this purpose, the apertures in the bottom of the recesses through whlch the tabs 46 extend are preferably sealed in any conventional manner after the eiectrodes have been installed.
To prevent inadvertent short c~rcuiting of the apparatus 10 when in use, the insulating member 28 ex-tends transversely across the apparatus between the recesses 34 and 36 and is o~ sufficient height to separ-ate the pads 22 and 24. Moreover, in order to ensurethat no moisture ~rom the pads can flow across the lnsulating member 28 and cause a short circuit~ the member 28 preferably includes a series f upstanding rlbs ~8 whlch also extcnd ~ran~versely across the apparatus 10.
While the ~ads 22 and 2~ can be of any suitable porous materlal, it has been ~ound that a polyester material ls preferrcd. For exampleJ ~olyester electrode pads soak up ~ater much more rea.dlly than do pads made o~ wool felt used hereto~ore, and polyester pads do not exhibit the tendency to sh-rink which is present ln wool pads. Moreover, pol~ester ~ads are much more economical to supply~ and do not support bacterlal li~e as readily as wool felt pads.
It has also been found that by using the same or similar metals for both electrodes in an iontophoretic treatment device, which h;s been the common practice hereto~ore, a substantial lo~s of current ~s experienced over the treatment period due to corrosion occurring on one or both of the electrodes. For example, in an iontophoretlc treatment device ~n which both the anode and cathode are aluminum alloy, a signi~icant loss o~
current i~ experienced over ea^h treatment period, and each ~uccessive treatment period beghins at the level o~

60 ~

103~ experienced at the end of the preceding period.
Naturally, a~ter several treatinent periods~ the ionto-phoretic treatment device ~ill have lost its effective-ness.
In contrast to this, it has been found that by using a stainless steel electrode as the cathode of the iontophoretic device and an electrode of substantlally pure aluminum, such as that available under the commer-cial designation ALCOA 1100, as the anode, a loss of current of only about six to eight percent occurs over approximately the first one-half hour of treatment, and vlrtually no losses occur t~lereafter. Moreover, the devlce returns to full power at the beginning of each sub~equent treatment.
As can best be seen in FIG. 3, the control ~wltch 20 is preferably a continuous control device, such as a potentiometer, to permit the user to ad~ust the level of iontophoretic treatment being admlnistered.
This ~acilltates the utility of the apparatus 10 for use in the home by the person being treated since it permit~ the user to select the level of treatment per-sonally desired, Further, a light 50 can be provided ad~acent to the switch 20 to indicate whether the appar-atu~ 10 1~ activated An alternative embodiment of the present lnven-tion, illu~trated as an iontophoretic treat~ent device 52 ln FIG. 4, is speclally adapted for treating the plantar surface of a single foot For this purpose, the con~iguration of the support structure 53 of this device iB generally similar to the conflguration Or the support structure 26 o~ the device illustrated ln FIGS. 1 and 2.
That ~s, the device is generally rectangular, has a pair o~ electrodes 54 and 56 d~sposed on itB upper sur~ace and a narrow ~nsulating member 58 separatlng the elec-

3~ trodes 5~ and 56.
To accommodate the shape and contour o~ theplantar sur~ace o~ a ~oot, the foot device 52 iB gener-ally longer than the hand device 10, and can be slightly narrower. Further, to assure adequate contact wlth the 60'~

ent~re plantar suriace of a rOOt, particularly with the arch portion cf a hu~an fo~t, a generally arched or raised portion 60 ls pro~ided on the upper surface of the device 5', and this arched portion is centrally located on the device along one side thereof.
It is commonly believed that the amount of treatment ef~ected at each electrode is very nearly equal. Accordingly the ~oot device ~2 described herein can be used for treat~ng either the right or le~t foot by simply reversing the device end-for-end so that the arched porti~n 6C will cooperate with the arch of either a right or left foot. ~t will also be noted that a control switch 62 is provided on the side of the devlce ~2 ~or easy manual operation.
1~ A third embodiment of the present invention, ill~strated as an iontophoretic treatment device 54 in FIGS. ~ and 6, ls specially adapted for treating the axilla area of a human body. For this purpose, the support structure 66 of the device 64 is not a generally flat rectangular structure as described above, but rather is a generally upright structure having a pair of electrodes 68 and 70 (FIG. 6) in generally parallel planes and facing oppositely from one another. With this arrangement, the iontophoretic treatment device 64 can be positioned in the axilla area and held in place during treatment by the user simply lowering hls arm.
Thls arrangement has a significant advantage over prior devices in that the user's hands are relatively free during treatment~ making this device particularly conven-3 ient to use. More~ver, as in the other devices dlsclosedherein, the treatment de~ice 64 includes a control switch 72 on the body 66 for manually activating and controlling the level o~ treatment.
As with the ~ormer de~ices disclosed herein, the iontophoretic treatment device 64 employs porous pads 74 and 76 between the electrodes and the sur~ace being treatedJ and these pads are preferably to be kept moist to ~acllitate conductivity. For this purpose, as can best be seen in the cut-away portlon of FIG. 5, a water-lt~ O~

tight trough 77 is provided along the botto~, of the body66, and the lower end of t.he pad 74 e~tends into the trough. This permits the trough 77 to serve as a reser-voir for reta~ning mo~sture in the pad 74. Naturally, a second trough (not shown) can be provided on the other side of the body 66 to serve as a similar reservoir for the other pad 76.
For the purpose o~ providlng an insulating member between the electrode 68 and 70 and further for holding the pads 74 and 76 in place on the body ~6, a pad retainer 78 bears against the upper portion of the pads 74 and 76 and is releasably secured to the body 66, as will be described in greater detail below. As can best be seen in FIG. 6, the upper portion of the body 66 includes a generally U-shaped channel 80 which is divided into two channels by a vertical dividing wall 82. The upper portion of each of the pads 74 and 76 is bent over into one of the two channels, and the dividing wall 82 serves to prevent short circuitlng of the device 64 by ellmina-ting any contact between the pads 74 and 76.
To hold the pads 74 and 16 in placeJ the retainer78 includes a pair o~ longitudinally extending flanges 84 and 86 which pro,ect laterally a sufficient distance to engage and retain the pads 74 and 76, respectlvely.
In ~hiB instance, the ~lange 84 is arranged to cooperate with the pad 74, and accordingly extends laterally a greater distance than the ~la~ge 86. Moreover~ if de-sired, a series of eetaining spikes 88 can be provided on the retainer 78 to further assist in holding the thicker pad 74.
In order to releasably sec~re the retainer 78 to the body 66J the reta~ner incl~des a pair o~ tabs 90 which cooperate with an L-8haped slot 92 in the ends of the body 66, as can be~t be seen in FIG 5a. To remove the retainer 78 from the dev~ce 64, it is necessary only to press the retainer downwardly and slide it to the le~t, as ind~cated by the arrow 54 in FIG. 5a, thereby releasing the tab 90 from the L portion o~ the slot 92 From this position, the retainer 78 can simply be lifted 11 ~460'~

upwardly out of the cllannel SO, thereby dlsengaging it from the pads 74 and 76 From the foregQing~ it will be appreciated that the iontophoretic treatment apparatus of the present invention provides a device which is self-contained and is easy and convenient to use. Moreover, the device of the invention can be fabricated conveniently and economically, is capable of maintaining a relatively high level of operation over an extended period of time, 10 and may advantageously confine the flow of treatment current to the area of the body being treated.
While several particular forms of the inventlon have been illustrated and described, it will also be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the lnvention.

Claims

1. A self-contained iontophoretic treatment apparatus comprising: a support structure; a source of electric power and a control means therefor on said support structure for controlling the delivery of said electrical power; a pair of electrodes mounted on said support structure in generally close proximity to one another, said electrodes being connected to said source of electrical power through said control means; porous pads on said electrodes, and an insulating member extending between said electrodes, a first of said electrodes being connected to said source of electrical power and arranged to act primarily as a cathode, and the other electrode being connected to said source of electrical power and arranged to act primarily as an anode, said first electrode being formed of stainless steel and said other electrode being formed of substantially pure aluminum, said support structure and said electrodes being sized and arranged so that a surface to be treated can extend across said insulating member and simultaneously contact both of said pads, whereby electric current from said electrodes for effecting iontophoretic treatment will pass only through the surface being treated.

2. The iontophoretic treatment apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said porous pads are moisture absorbing; and said insulating member extends between said moisture absorbing pads.

3. The iontophoretic treatment apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said pads are formed of polyester material.

4. A self-contained iontophoretic treatment apparatus comprising: a support structure; a source of electrical power and a control means on said support structure; a pair of electrodes mounted on a treatment surface of said support structure in generally close proximity to one another, said electrodes being connected to said source of electrical power through said control means; porous pads on said electrodes, and an insulating member extending between said electrodes on said treatment surface, said treatment surface being the upper surface of said support structure and being sized to conform generally with the size of the plantar surface of a human foot, said treatment surface includ-ing a centrally located raised portion along one side thereof to cooperate with the arch portion of said plantar surface of said foot, said insulating member being disposed transversely across said treatment surface between said electrodes so that said plantar surface of said foot to be treated can be placed on said treatment surface extending across said insulating member and simultaneously contact both of said pads, whereby electric current from said electrodes for effecting iontophoretic treatment will pass only through said plantar surface of said foot being treated.

5. A self-contained iontophoretic treatment apparatus comprising: a support structure; a source of electrical power and a control means therefor on said support structure for controlling the delivery of said electrical power; a pair of electrodes mounted on a treatment surface of said support structure in generally close proximity to one another, said electrodes being connected to said source of electric power through said control means; porous pads on said electrodes, and an insulating member extending between said electrodes on said treatment surface, said support structure forming a generally upright housing, said treatment surface including two generally vertical, parallel planes on said housing facing oppositely from one another and the top of said upright housing con-necting said oppositely facing planes, said treatment surface being sized to conform generally with the size of a human axilla, said insulating member being disposed transversely across said treatment surface at the top of said upright housing and between said electrodes so that a human axilla to be treated can extend across said insulating member and simultaneously contact both of said pads, whereby electric current from said electrodes for effecting iontophoretic treatment will pass only through the surface of the axilla being treated.