From the January 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Safety
“We are making quantum leaps in determining the optimal methods to use and the tweaking of devices to gain better performance and improved safety,” says Weiss. An ASLMS expert group meets with the FDA each year to help answer the questions about what’s really happening in the community with devices that are FDA cleared. The FDA wants to know what side effects we are seeing from which devices and how public safety can be best protected. Fortunately, as technology advances, more safety features are being built into the devices. A recent invention and additional to IPL is a skin reflectance reader which will measure the pigmentation of the skin and recommends the proper settings to avoid burning based on actual skin pigmentation at the time of treatment.
The future remains bright
“We have evolved into all of these multiple non-invasive methods to treat vascular, to treat pigment, improve skin texture and reduce fat,” Weiss says. “And the evolution has gone on to include more forms of energy than just laser. With all of the choices available now, it has become more confusing to the public and to the physicians as well, to choose the proper device and treatment. That’s where the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) serves a more important function than ever. Weiss pointed out that the ASLMS annual meeting provides interaction between M.D.s or other providers who are treating patients, alongside the PhDs who are developing the devices, alongside the manufacturers who are implementing the designs of the PhDs. “Frankly, I don’t know of any other conference where you can attend sessions devoted to each of technologies, such as fat reduction, new developments in vascular lasers, and developments in skin tightening,” says Weiss. “Hundreds of clinical studies are presented each year to highlight the latest advances and newest devices on the market. I personally never miss an annual ASLMS meeting, there is no other opportunity to acquire the information that I need to learn each year.”
About the author: Andrea Alstad is the marketing and communications coordinator for the ASLMS.
About the ASLMS: The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS) is the world’s preeminent resource for laser research, safety, education, and clinical knowledge. Founded in 1980, ASLMS promotes excellence in patient care by advancing product engineering and clinical applications of lasers and other energy based technologies. Currently, ASLMS has over 3,600 members, including physicians and surgeons representing more than 51 specialties, physicists involved in product development, biomedical engineers, biologists, nurses, industry representatives and manufacturers.
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