MORE THAN A CATALOG
‘The utilisation is fundamentally different. A treatment might only take a matter of seconds, but it takes much longer to prepare the next patient.’
Skin treatments Without doubt, the market that has the most potential right now is that of cosmetic skin treatments, such as hair removal and skin resurfacing. ‘Consumer confi dence has returned to such a point that we believe a new market will open up – that of home-based skin treatments using laser technology,’ says Schulze. ‘This is not something that is on the horizon; it’s here now, and is expected to grow much further.’ With skin resurfacing, the more common technique involves a scalpel cutting the skin, leading to long healing times. A CO2
laser
-based procedure, which has already been around for some years, is much milder by comparison and has less impact on the patient in terms of recovery.
‘In the past decade or so, the fractional laser method has been developed,’ says Schulze. ‘Here, rather than removing skin, the laser drills tiny holes, and the natural healing process will deliver the restored and rejuvenated skin. It also stimulates collagen production, which helps the skin look younger. ‘For hair removal, the technology used is an 808nm infrared diode, but more recently longer wavelengths have been used for darker skin.’ Typically, up to now, these
procedures have also been carried out in a clinical environment, largely because there is a risk of accidentally applying the laser to early-stage cancerous cells, which can be very dangerous for the patient. However, the FDA has recently approved a home-based procedure for hair removal.
Laser Components is also involved in supplying its Seminex and Arima diodes for use in this fi eld. Stuart Nunn says: ‘For laser hair removal, we predominantly use our Arima diodes in the 810nm wavelength. This wavelength is most effective for hair removal as it penetrates deeper into the skin, reaching the hair follicle.’
‘Our Seminex laser diodes are used in the
fi eld of skin wrinkle reduction, acne treatment and wart removal, predominantly at 1470nm. These skin conditions exist closer to the surface of the skin just below the upper epidermis layer. The melanonin found in the epidermis does not absorb these wavelengths strongly. As
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it is insensitive to skin type, this means there is no need to adjust output power for every patient. As water is strongly absorbent at this wavelength, the right penetration depth is achieved, and one chooses a laser based on the depth required.
‘Clinical trials have shown that these
treatments are very effective, and they are being administered in a live clinical environment.’ ‘Aesthetic or cosmetic procedures are set for
strong growth over the next couple of years,’ says Schulze, ‘to a point where the sector might overtake ophthalmology in terms of dollar revenue. It is worth noting that the market for cosmetic procedures is booming in Asia. Appearance is culturally important in that part of the world, and as countries become more wealthy, they are spending more on aesthetic procedures.’
Drug delivery
The fractional laser method is also applied in a novel method to deliver drugs into the body. Christian Naumer, product manager, mounted bar business at Oclaro, says: ‘We are working with Pantec Biosolutions on a lightweight, tabletop medical device, called Please (Precise Laser Epidermal System) Professional, that incorporates a solid-state, diode-pumped, Erbium YAG laser. ‘It works by creating micropores into the skin to enable a large number of treatments
In both cases, the laser light
is applied to the skin, creating a pattern of tiny holes in it
and therapies, including in vitro fertilisation (in fact, a clinical trial earlier this year has resulted in the fi rst pregnancy using this drug delivery method). While the device is designed for use in clinics and medical practices, work is in progress on a smaller, battery-powered hand- held device, which could be used at home. ‘In both cases, the laser light is applied to the skin, creating a precise pattern of micropores into the outermost layers. For drug delivery applications, a drug-containing patch or cream is then applied to the skin, allowing the medication to be absorbed through the micropores in a controlled manner – functioning in a similar way to a nicotine patch. Ultimately, such a hand-held device could be available from a drugstore, allowing the whole process to be carried out at home and at the patient’s convenience. Both devices are laser ➤
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