Vbeam Technology in Washington, DC

Selective Photothermolysis – The process of targeting a specific chromophore. Vbeam targets oxyhemoglobin. Ideally, the wavelength selected for eradiation of vascular lesions is highly absorbed by the lesion and only minimally absorbed by other competing chromophores in the skin.

Pulse Duration – By varying the pulse duration, treatments can be performed purpurically (with bruising) by rupturing the blood vessel, or sub-purpurically by slowly heating the vessel causing coagulation of the blood vessel. The Vbeam family has 0.45ms, 1.5ms, 3ms, 6ms, 10ms, 20ms, 30ms & 40ms pulsed durations. The shorter the pulse duration the more destructive the energy becomes, while with the longer pulse durations, the energy is more gentle thus causing coagulation of the target without harming structures around the treated area. For coagulation and treatments without purpura, the laser pulse duration should be shorter than the thermal relaxation time of the target absorbing the laser radiation in order to confine the thermal damage and spare surrounding tissue. The relaxation time of a target is determined by the target’s size (milliseconds or greater for vascular lesions).

* Before and After 12 Weeks of Treatment
Photos Courtesy of A. Kauvar, MD

Disclaimer: All photos taken from Candela with permission