{"id":16505,"date":"2017-11-01T10:18:22","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T14:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aerolase.com\/?p=16505"},"modified":"2017-11-01T10:18:22","modified_gmt":"2017-11-01T14:18:22","slug":"speed-light-aesthetic-laser-technology","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.varshabi.com\/Aerolase\/blog\/speed-light-aesthetic-laser-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"The Speed of Light – Aesthetic Laser Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

MedEsthetics<\/a> November\/December 2017, by Inga Hansen<\/p>\n

Aesthetic laser technology has improved in leaps and bounds with shorter pulse durations, higher fluences and more compact designs; which innovations are right for your patient base?<\/p>\n

Aesthetic lasers have come a long way since their rather inauspicious beginnings. \u201cThe first laser that was ever used on patients was the ruby laser back in 1960,\u201d says Christopher Zachary, MD, professor and chair of dermatology at the University of California, Irvine. \u201cIt was a big device, and the parameters we used were entirely inappropriate for any sort of safe treatment, so it caused a lot of burns\u2014this was before anyone knew what the outcome of laser-tissue interaction would be.\u201d It wasn\u2019t until R. Rox Anderson, MD, PhD, and John A. Parrish, MD, introduced the concept of selective photothermolysis in 1983 that the number of aesthetic laser options began to mushroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly, lasers were being developed that had specific purposes,\u201d says Dr. Zachary. \u201cIf you wanted to treat blood vessels, for instance, then you started out with a certain wavelength, a certain pulse duration, a certain energy, and that heralded great times for the development of new devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flash forward to today, and not only are there dozens\u2028of devices from which to choose but clinics that specialize in laser procedures may carry 20 to 30 different machines in their offices, each offering unique features that provide more targeted and effective treatments. In addition, lasers now come in many forms\u2014standalone, multi-wavelength platforms and compact, briefcase-sized machines that can be carried from office to office. Finding the right devices for your practice starts by understanding the latest advances in laser technologies and determining the key concerns you wish to address.<\/p>\n

SMALL WONDERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most recent innovations in laser aesthetics has been the move to create smaller, more portable machines that can be moved from room to room and even practice to practice\u2014and the size of the equipment owes much<\/p>\n

to advances in laser technology itself. \u201cWhen we look at dramatic changes in the laser industry over the years, we have to look at the laser diode,\u201d says Bo Chen, principal scientist at Cynosure. \u201cDriven mainly by innovations in other industries, like the military and communications, laser diodes are getting much, much smaller, much more efficient, and you can generate much higher power from the laser itself. This is where you see devices like the briefcase-sized lasers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compact, portable systems like the original Iridex Diolite and the 532nm KTP laser from NewSurg feature diode lasers that require less cooling and shorter treatment arms, making them more stable with enough energy to effectively treat concerns, such as vascular and pigmented lesions. \u201cWe are able to achieve the energy and power output needed to treat lesions with a large spot size and\u2028a high repetition rate\u2014so you can fire the laser 10 to 15 times a second, and cover large areas quickly,\u201d says Dave Konstanzer, owner of NewSurg. \u201cThe laser runs off 100V vs. 220V, so you can put it in a case, take it on a plane or move it from room to room or office to office.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second innovation that has made some laser systems lighter and more portable is air-cooling. \u201cTraditional lasers have a laser emitter, which gets very hot, inside the box and a fiber optic guide system that brings that light out from the emitter to the handpiece,\u201d says Joe Hurley, chief operating officer at Aerolase. \u201cThe emitter needs to be cooled, and that is typically done with a water-cooling system, which is why laser systems are so heavy and bulky.\u201d<\/p>\n

By using an airstream cooling system and putting the laser emitter in the handpiece rather than in the laser cabinet, Aerolase was able to reduce the size of its devices significantly. \u201cThey are still relatively large\u2014maybe 75 pounds to 100 pounds compared to a water-cooled laser system that is about 250 pounds,\u201d says Hurley. \u201cBut because there are fewer parts, pieces and subsystems\u2014and that relates to the fiber optic cables and optical components that are in the water-cooled lasers\u2014the systems are far less fragile, so they can be moved more easily.\u201d Like the NewSurg laser, the air-cooled devices can also run off of 100V.<\/p>\n

Another major advance has focused on creating higher fluences with shorter and shorter pulse durations\u2014from millisecond to microsecond, nanosecond and now picosecond. \u201cThe revolution in the past five to six years has been picosecond lasers,\u201d says Chen. \u201cInstead of nanosecond lasers, developers have continued to push the limits to make the pulses even shorter, which provides a much higher peak power.\u201d<\/p>\n

MULTI-TASKING MACHINES<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the past decade, laser manufacturers have also moved toward multifunction laser platforms. Among the benefits of these systems are the ability to treat multiple concerns with one device, as well as the cost savings when compared with purchasing several separate standalone lasers. \u201cThese devices use the same power force, optics and other essential elements that drive the lasers, but use them to pulse an Er:YAG laser, a 1,064nm laser and also an IPL, for example,\u201d says Dr. Zachary. \u201cWith this platform, you have three or four different wavelengths in one box, and that\u2019s very useful in that you can treat a variety of concerns without buying three or four separate lasers.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are some downsides to consider with multifunction platforms, however. \u201cIf it breaks, you can\u2019t treat any conditions,\u201d says Dr. Zachary. A multi-purpose platform also limits laser treatments to one treatment room at a time, and combining three different laser or light systems within one unit can lead to some compromises in energy output.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo make a machine that has three types of laser or light devices and is not the size of three machines, you have to compromise on some aspects of the laser components and cooling system, so it is no longer equivalent to three individual devices,\u201d says Hurley.<\/p>\n

The good news is that those concerns tend to be inconsequential when it comes to efficacy. \u201cThere are occasionally compromises that you have to make, so it is possible that a single wavelength device could be more powerful than a platform, but honestly I have not found that to be a problem,\u201d notes Dr. Zachary. \u201cWith our Sciton device, for instance, that\u2019s the best Er:YAG laser in the world. It has two laser heads, a good IPL and it\u2019s very powerful. I have no problem getting the right energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not to be confused with multifunction platforms, many standalone lasers do have the ability to emit more than one wavelength. In some cases, wavelengths are combined not to expand the number of offerings but to improve clinical efficacy. \u201cMost of our lasers now are multi-wavelength, and these designs are geared toward better serving the applica- tions,\u201d notes Chen. \u201cFor example, the Picosure provides three wavelengths because different wavelengths are need- ed for removing different colors of tattoos.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some cases, wavelength accuracy can vary depend- ing on the type of laser. \u201cIf it\u2019s a solid state laser, the wavelength is very accurate\u2014if it\u2019s a 1,064nm YAG laser, it\u2019s emitting a 1,064 wavelength,\u201d says Chen. \u201cAnd most aesthetic industry lasers are solid state, including the 755nm alexandrite laser, 1,064 Nd:YAG; several of the near infrared lasers and quite a few of the 1,320nm and 1,440nm wavelengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diode lasers, on the other hand, have broader wave- lengths. \u201cIf you control the environment of the diode very well\u2014the temperature and the cooling\u2014you can get a wavelength accuracy within a few nanometers,\u201d says Chen. \u201cBut if you look at the absorption curve of the specific chro- mophores you want to target, in a lot of cases, a shift of a few nanometers doesn\u2019t affect that absorption a whole lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

But wavelength is only one factor in efficacy and safety. \u201cDifferent lasers, even those of the same wavelength, offer a different range of available treatments based on the pulse duration, optical power and spot size,\u201d says Hurley.<\/p>\n

DECIDING FACTORS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Choosing the best devices for your patient base starts by looking at their goals. \u201cFirst, look at the clinical concerns you want to address and the laser specs required to treat them; then look for the most effective and safest laser for that problem,\u201d says Chen. \u201cAsk the company for clinical ef- ficacy and safety data, and look at how the treatments are performed. Then ask yourself, Does that make sense to me as the treating physician? Are the laser specs what they should be for this purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n

While these are the top criteria when investigating a device, business owners are also wise to consider cost.\u2028In this area there are two components: upfront costs and ongoing costs. \u201cOngoing costs include service and repair, consumables (tips, sprays and gels that need to be used), and some devices have a subscription model where the practitioner is charged for each use of the device,\u201d says Hurley. \u201cSo, when shopping for a laser, make sure you are comparing apples to apples by looking at the total cost of ownership over a three-year or five-year timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MedEsthetics November\/December 2017, by Inga Hansen Aesthetic laser technology has improved in leaps and bounds with shorter pulse durations, higher fluences and more compact designs; which innovations are right for your patient base? Aesthetic lasers have come a long way since their rather inauspicious beginnings. \u201cThe first laser that was ever used on patients was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16506,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","blog_category":[59],"blog_tag":[56,58],"class_list":["post-16505","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_category-best-practices","blog_tag-aesthetic-medicine","blog_tag-laser-therapy"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Speed of Light - Aesthetic Laser Technology • Aerolase<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aerolases innovative technology enables faster energy delivery which reduces negative side effects and opens more options for patients.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Speed of Light - 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