Some other informations included in the patent.
[000202] In an aspect, it should be appreciated that advantages of the applicators include massaging and parting hair simultaneously while dispensing a chemical, omni-directional movement of the massage heads, a charging station acting as a light pipe and luminous display, buttonless powering, remote control and smart phone application control and monitoring, among other features. A major concern with the use of minoxidil is that it is often mostly applied to the hair rather than directly to the scalp. This is ineffective and inefficient use of the compound as minoxidil must reach the surface of the skin for optimal effect. The applicators deliver drug directly to the skin and the massage mode spreads the drug over the skin providing for more consistent and evenly distributed administration of the drug. A problem with minoxidil administration is that it is typically delivered to the hair and not the scalp. Accordingly, among other advantages, the described drug applicators provide a more effective means of applying the compound to a subject's scalp.
(...) For example, the drug applicator is capable of detecting any one or more of (a) whether a cartridge is provided by the same manufacturer of the drug applicator device or a different manufacturer, (b) what type of compound is in the cartridge, for example, a Minoxidil-5% compound for men or Minoxidil-2% compound for women, (c) how much compound is left in the cartridge, and (d) the usage history of the cartridge, for example, whether this is the first time that this cartridge has been inserted in a drug applicator device or the number of times this cartridge was previously inserted in a drug applicator device.
(...) For example, integumental perturbation can be controlled to limit perturbation to part or all of the epidermis, to part or all of the stratum corneum, or deeper into the papillary dermis, reticular dermis, and/or hypodermis. The occurrence of pinpoint bleeding would indicate removal of the stratum corneum, epidermis (or part thereof) and portions of the upper layer of the dermis, such as the superficial papillary dermis. The occurrence of increased bleeding would indicate deeper penetration (and thus perturbation) into the deeper papillary dermis and reticular dermis layer.
(...) The depth of integumental perturbation depends on the thickness of the skin at a particular treatment area. For example, the skin of the eyelid is significantly thinner than that of the scalp. The occurrence of pinpoint bleeding indicates that the epidermis and portions of the dermis have been removed. Deeper penetration can result in much more bleeding, and the perturbation can go as deep as the hypodermis.
Disruption of the papillary dermis can be detected by the appearance of small pinpoints of blood in the treated area.
(...) [000294] In some embodiments, the hair growth-promoting agent treatment comprises treatment with an antiapoptotic compound. In one embodiment, the antiapoptotic compound is not a Wnt or a Wnt agonist.
(...) [000297] In certain embodiments, the hair growth-promoting agent may be used in its commercially available form. In other embodiments, the form of the hair growth-promoting agent is adjusted to optimize a combination treatment (e.g., integumental perturbation or treatment with another active ingredient) described herein. In a particular embodiment, the hair growth-promoting agent is formulated as a different salt form than that which is commercially available. In a particular embodiment, the hair growth-promoting agent is formulated for topical administration, e.g., by incorporation into a pharmaceutical composition for post-perturbation treatment described in Section 5.2 infra
(...) In some embodiments, the hair growth-promoting agent treatment comprises treatment with a prostaglandin F2a or prostamide analog (e.g., latanoprost, bimatoprost, etc.) in combination with a channel opener (e.g., minoxidil). In one such embodiment, a prostaglandin F2a or prostamide analog is administered in combination with minoxidil.