If you look long enough on the web you will find almost anything. One popular article claims that all you need is a laser pointer to perform laser therapy. We think laser pointers are better suited for PowerPoint presentations and playing with cats.
There is a big difference in the technology available in low level laser therapy systems and your average laser pointer. They may seem similar. After all, they’re both focusing light, aren’t they?
The FDA controls all forms of lasers, from scanners at the grocery store to the laser pointer entertaining our feline friends to highly precise medical therapy laser systems. These lasers all have different functions, and if you’re going to be using low level laser therapy, it’s good to know the difference.
Therapy Lasers
True Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) requires a very specific type of laser. It must use a wavelength (color) of exactly 635-nm (nanometer). Then it must be powered at less than 5mW (less than 5 thousands of one watt). Then it must be a true laser which produces collimated coherent light. Coherent light is where all of the photons are in phase with each other.
This is the form of light that the body communicates with itself. It is the only form of light that can be received and activate the internal light receptors (chromophores) of the body. Any deviation of this form of light will not activate the physiological light receptors located in the tissues of the body which is required for LLLT.
The typical 635-nm laser diode that is utilized in a low level laser therapy system costs so much more and has a great deal more technology behind it.
Laser Pointers
As stated above all lasers are controlled by the FDA. Laser pointers, however, are not cleared for human use for good reason. The typical laser diode utilized in a laser pointer costs from 5 to 15 cents.
You can purchase a nice laser pointer for your key chain for about $1.00 or less from any store. They can be great fun as tools for pointing out relevant information during a PowerPoint presentation. They’re also great fun as toys and for playing with cats and dogs who love chasing the elusive colored dot.
They do not have the capabilities available in a medical low level laser therapy system.
So what is the difference?
Everything! Performing low level laser therapy is extremely precise. The body is a very precise instrument. If the laser diode does not meet the precise specifications, it does not work for LLLT.
For a laser pointer all you need is a visible point of light, no precision is needed. And, as such, no precision is is provided.
Lasers are very delicate instruments. When made cheaply out of plastic, they will even change with the weather. This lack of precision is simply unacceptable when your health — and potentially your life — depends upon precision and quality of therapy.
Laser pulse capability is key to the therapy
Pulse frequency is vital for any true LLLT system. And the higher the range and the more precise that pulse frequency is, the greater the therapeutic value of that therapy system. The design, engineering and electronics to be able to pulse a laser diode at any frequency you desire at speeds exceeding several million pulses per second make up about 95% of the cost of manufacturing of a LLLT system such as the BioLight PTL therapy lasers. Then the software engineering and programming to pulse a LLLT system at those speeds is also very significant. Even more costly is the research and development of what pulse frequency is needed for every different condition that is treated.
Where will you trust your health?
A true low level laser therapy system is a very precise and advanced instrument that can take years of development, research and engineering at a cost of many millions of dollars. The current BioLight PTL low level laser therapy unit is the end result of the past 12 years of research and development. It contains the latest electronic and software technology. And the BioLight PTL will continue to advance as new electronic technology is developed.
Those that claim they can do the same thing with a laser pointer just don’t have a clue as to what LLLT is or how it works.
Lasers are amazing tools
One last point of clarification: someone utilizing a better quality laser pointer may be quite amazed at seeing some therapeutic response when using it on themselves. After all, laser light — even cheap lasers — can still be therapeutic. However, that does not mean that it is anything near the therapeutic quality of a true low level laser therapy system. They just don’t know what to expect from a true quality LLLT system.
It is like a person that is near starving to death that finds a half-eaten hamburger in the dumpster. They may think that is one of the best meals of their life, but that does not make it a quality meal.
Want to learn more about low level laser therapy? We’ll be posting news articles in the next few weeks explaining how revolutionary low level laser therapy is, and how it can fundamentally improve a patient’s life through relief of pain, allergy, and other conditions.
The BioLight PTL therapy lasers are not only the finest low level laser therapy systems, but they are also much more than just LLLT units. They are the next generation of health care, they are true Natural Energy Medicine therapy systems.
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