What is the Difference Between the PAIN-X-2000™ and Laser Products ?

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are another form of light therapy that is a relatively recent development of the laser industry. LEDs are similar to lasers inasmuch as they have the same healing effects but differ in the way that the light energy is delivered. A significant difference between lasers and LEDs is the power output. The peak power output of LEDs is measured in milliwatts, while that of lasers is measured in watts. However, this difference when considered alone is misleading, since the most critical factor that determines the amount of energy delivered is the duty cycle of the device.

LED devices usually have a 50% duty cycle. That is, the LED pulse is "on" for 0.5 seconds and "off" for 0.5 seconds versus the 200/1,000,000,000 (200 billionths) of a second burst from laser at 1 cycle per second (1 hertz). Moreover, LED is "on" 50% of the time and "off" 50% of the time regardless of what frequency setting (pulses per second) is used. On the contrary, the laser is "on" for 0.000000000005 of a second and "off" for 0.999999999995 of the second. In short, the LED diodes emit more than 33% more energy than a comparable laser diode because of the substantially longer duty cycle, even though the peak output is less.

In the majority of lasers on the market, the energy output varies with the frequency setting: the lower the frequency, the lower the output. In the PAIN-X-2000™ system on the contrary, the output is constant regardless of frequency. Even in the case of lasers that claim a peak output of 10 watts, because of the very short duty cycle, the average output at the highest frequencies is of the order of about 10 milliwatts. At the lower frequencies, however, the average output plummets into the range of microwatts (1 microwatt = 1000th of 1 watt).

LEDs do not deliver enough power to damage the tissue, but they do deliver enough energy to stimulate a response from the body to heal itself. With a low peak power output but high duty cycle, the LEDs provide a much gentler delivery of the same healing wavelengths of light as does the laser but at a substantially greater energy output. For this reason, LEDs do not have the same risk of accidental eye damage that lasers do.

Moreover, LEDs are neither coherent nor collimated and they generate a broader band of wavelengths than does the single-wavelength laser. Non-collimation and the wide-angle diffusion of the LED confers upon it a greater ease of application, since light emissions are thereby able to penetrate a broader surface area. Moreover, the multiplicity of wavelengths in the LED, contrary to the single-wavelength laser, may enable it to affect a broader range of tissue types and produce a wider range of photochemical reactions in the tissue.

If LED disperses over a greater surface area, this results in a faster treatment time for a given area than laser. The primary reason that PAIN-X-2000™ chose the LEDs over lasers is that LEDs are safer, more cost effective, provide a gentle but effective delivery of light and a greater energy output per unit of surface area in a given time duration. They are offered in combinations of visible red light at 660nm and infrared light at from 830nm to 930nm, with 880nm as their average, thereby stimulating a broader range of tissue types.

Probably the most important item is that as of this date there are no lasers approved for human use except surgical lasers. The PAIN-X-2000 is FDA approved for human infrared therapy. So if you see a laser product advertise that it is FDA approved this only means it has been approved to bring into the country to be used as a laser pointer, gun site or surgical laser.

Conclusion: Why pay more for less.

 

The following was taken from the following website.

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/laserfacts.html

 

Bio-stimulation lasers are being marketed with claims for pain relief and accelerated healing in other countries, where pre-market approval may not be required. They are also called low level laser therapy (LLLT), cold lasers, soft lasers, or laser acupuncture devices. In the United States, medical lasers must have pre-market approval or pre-market clearance from the FDA prior to marketing for any claimed human indication, unless specifically exempted by FDA. To date, no bio-stimulation laser therapy devices have been approved by the FDA for humans; therefore, it is illegal to make any claims of clinical effectiveness. The Office of Compliance has issued notifications and warnings to firms suspected of illegally marketing these devices with claims of effectiveness.

Although the FDA does not have jurisdiction over the practice of medicine, no bio-stimulation laser devices have been cleared for human treatment; therefore, no units can be legally introduced into commerce for human treatment, unless via an IDE or with IRB approval.