Cold Laser Therapy
Cold Laser Therapy (a.k.a. Low Level Laser Therapy)
vs.
Class IV Laser Therapy (High Power Laser Therapy – HPLT)
Avicenna’s Class IV High Power Laser is NOT a Class III, “cold laser” or a Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT/Low Intensity Laser Therapy/LILT, Cold Laser) device. It is a high-power, therapeutic laser with the ability to stimulate accelerated healing energy within a continuum of treatment depths from superficial to extremely deep (6-9 inches). This enables the accelerated treatment of superficial injuries, sprains/strains, and deep intra-articular tissues (inside of joints) unreachable by any other physical therapy modality, Class III “low-level“laser or even other Class IV lasers.
In the last decade the goal has been to increase the dose and power density in order to achieve better outcomes.
Avicenna’s Class IV laser technology delivers 1500 times more power over a treatment region that is over 250 times larger compared to the best selling US Class III Therapeutic Laser. Additionally, it also penetrates this healing energy at 10 times the depth below the skin, which allows it to penetrate deeper into the joint than any other therapeutic modality.
Most therapeutic lasers are classified by the Food and Drug Administration as Class III lasers, which:
1. Are known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), cold laser therapy and low-power laser therapy.
2. Are promoted as an effective way to produce analgesia and accelerate healing of a variety of clinical conditions.
3. Use irradiation intensities that induce minimal (if any) temperature elevation (not more than 0.1-0.5° C). (This minimal elevation restricts treatment energies to a few J/cm2 and laser powers to 500 mW or less.)
Laser Therapy Facts
If Class III lasers are therapeutically ineffective, it is because of insufficient energy or dosage, combined with poor penetration. Class IV lasers offer better therapeutic outcome, based on six characteristics of this new technology:
1. Larger dosages of therapeutic energy. Class IV lasers can deliver up to 1,500 times more energy than Class III and consequently reduce treatment time.
2. Deeper penetration into the body. Leading Class III lasers only penetrate 0.5-2.0 cm2. Class IV can penetrate up to 10 cm2 .
3. Larger treatment surface area. Class III cover a treatment area of 0.3-5.0 cm2, depending on the model and manufacturer. Class IV cover up to 77 cm2. This is important when treating large regions, such as the lumbar spine, quadriceps or hips.
4. Greater power density. Power density indicates the degree of concentration of the power output. This property has been shown to play a major role in therapeutic outcomes.
5. Continuous power supply. In Class III lasers, the power is pulsed or modulated approximately 50 percent of the time. In other words, light is permitted to pass through the probe for only 50 percent of the total operating time.
6. In most cases, Class IV lasers deliver a consistent amount of energy over a given time. Their power can be adjusted for acute and chronic conditions.
7. Superior fiber optic cables. Fiber optic cables transmit laser energy from the laser to the treatment probe (wand) at the end of the cable. Several studies reveal that as much as 50 percent of the light energy generated by a Class III laser may be lost by the time it reaches the end of the probe.