Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory eruption of the face that may significantly impair patients’ lives, leading to considerable emotional distress and behavioral withdrawal from normal social interactions. One of the most famous rosacea patients (and exceptionally well involved in the society) is President Bill Clinton, who has mild erythematotelangiectatic rosacea and all means and tools to control it.

Mild cases of rosacea are very common in people of all ages – see pictures.

It’s easy to see why rosacea and the facial erythema could have a tremendous impact on the quality of life. There is a growing body of research and conteolled studies, Nuno Menezes MD et al of the Servio de Dermatologia do Centro Hospitalar de VN de Gaia/Espinho in Portugal is one of the recent and better ones on the pulsed dye laser, which reinforces the idea that aesthetic laser usage for the treatment of erythematotelangiectatic rosacea is very efficient.

Laser treatments administered by dermatologists and aesthetic physicians selectively target hemoglobin, the predominant protein in red blood cells: oxyhemoglobin (the oxygen-loaded bright red form of hemoglobin) and deoxyhemoglobin (the oxygen-unloaded purple-blue form). Several laser wavelengths are proved to be very efficacious in the treatment of vascular lesions – because of the high level of absorption by hemoglobin.

Facial Plast Surg. 2005 May;21(2):117-9

Authors: Carniol PJ, Price J, Olive A

Recently, a dual-wavelength 532/940-nm laser has become available for treatment of facial vascular lesions as an alternative to the flashlamp pumped-dye lasers. Most facial vascular lesions will respond to the 532-nm wavelength. However, some of the larger and deeper lesions are resistant to this laser. The 940-nm wavelength can be used to treat these resistant lesions. Sixteen patients with 532-nm laser-resistant vascular lesions were treated with the 940-nm laser. Fourteen of these 16 patients had improvement in their telangiectasia in response to these treatments. Most facial l telangiectasias respond well to treatment with the 532-nm laser. However, some of the larger and deeper lesions will not respond well to this laser. The 940-nm wavelength laser can be used to treat these 532-nm laser resistant lesions.

PMID: 16049890 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Cynosure has a new machine for the American Academy of Dermatology’s 67th Annual Meeting in San Francisco – Elite MPX for its Smartlipo MPX laser lipolysis workstation.

Through the company’s patented MultiPlex(TM) technology, Elite MPX combines two wavelengths — 755nm Alexandrite and 1064 nmNd:YAG – along with Xenon Pulsed Light (XPL2) technology to create one of the industry’s most powerful workstations for vascular treatment, hair removal and skin rejuvenation. In addition, Cynosure is introducing two new intelligent delivery systems for the Smartlipo MPX workstation for laser lipolysis: SmartSense with ThermaGuide and ThermaView, the world’s first subcutaneous temperature sensing technology and thermal imaging system for Laser Body Contouring.

Elite MPX incorporates Cynosure’s proprietary MultiPlex technology, which sequentially fires two wavelengths for more effective treatments than single-wavelength systems. A completely new software system runs the graphically enhanced Graphic User Interface, which makes its operation simple and easy.

The workstation also features a built-in Zimmer SmartCool(R) skin cooling system that is exclusive to Cynosure. Rather than requiring a separate SmartCool device, Zimmer technology is integrated into a single compact module, saving precious office space and reducing treatment time. In addition, the Elite MPX includes eight different spot sizes, including an 18mm spot size that results in 44% more treatment area per pulse than standard spot sizes.

“Cynosure’s Elite MPX is a powerful and versatile system that enables clinicians to customize treatments for a broad range of skin types and conditions, including sun-damaged skin, pigmented lesions, dyschromia and rosacea,” said Emil Tanghetti, M.D., Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, Davis and Director of The Center for Dermatology and Laser Surgery, Sacramento, California. “As practitioners, we are seeing a growing cultural diversity within our patient base, and I expect the Elite MPX will provide benefits across the spectrum of applications for these patients.”

According to InMedica, the worldwide demand for hair removal, pigmented lesion removal and vascular lesion removal is expected to increase from $650 million in 2007 to $750 million by 2010.

SmartSense with ThermaGuideis equipped with a thermal sensing cannula for measuring temperatures in the subcutaneous areas of the body. This technology allows the practitioner to set temperature thresholds to achieve targeted and controlled energy delivery for a safe and optimal clinical endpoint.

The ThermaView thermal camera system measures skin surface temperature and provides a visual map of temperatures within the treatment area in order to provide a homogeneous delivery of thermal energy. This intelligence is integrated into the Smartlipo MPX system. As a result, thermal energy is delivered to a targeted temperature setting, helping to ensure the safe and effective treatment of the superficial layer of the surface area.

LaserOffers.com comment

Many people will call these advances bells and whistles. We disagree. Cynosure has come up with a lot of real technological advances rolling out this system. High capacity, large volume clinics will benefit from it, if they can afford it. All it takes to get your money back is a few hundred patients a month. Every month.