Book Now 
Let’s Get Technical
The super short 450 ps pulse of Picoway delivers 4.5 times more photo acoustic effect than the 750 ps pulse of other picosecond devices.
In truth what experts look for is a combination of PD & mJ (Pulse Duration & Power).
- PD (Pulse Duration) PD is the speed at which the laser light travels, such as 450 ps
- mJ (Megajoules) is the energy the pulse duration is being forced at, this is important to keep the pulse
duration of any treatment consistent. Low mJ power will result in inconsistent performance or in technical terms; non-homogeneity.
Here is a comparative table of various manufacturers displaying their speeds and power at a wavelength.
| Picosecond Devices | 532nm | 585nm | 595nm | 650nm | 660nm Dye | 694nm Ruby | 755nm | 785nm | 1064nm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PicoWay | 375 200mj 10HZ | 300 100mj 10HZ | 450 400mj 10HZ | ||||||
| PicoWay Resolve | 450 2.9mj 10HZ | 375 1.5mj 10HZ | |||||||
| PicoWay Resolve | 370 300mj 10HZ | 30 NS 1200mj 3HZ | 450 800mj 10HZ | ||||||
| PicoPlus | 450 300mj | 450 110mj | 450 90mj | 450 800mj | |||||
| PicoSure | ? | ? | ? | ||||||
| PicoClear | 300 | 20NS | 350 | ||||||
| Piqo4 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Lasers deliver short bursts of light that penetrate deep into the epidermis or dermis. The chromophore (melanin, haemoglobin, water) absorbs this light energy and shatters it into small particles for the body to absorb via the Lymphatic System.
Colours have certain wavelengths, different wavelengths are set to match the type of chromophore that needs to be affected (shattered/damaged). Natural skin is therefore left untouched. The most important aspect of laser treatments is using the correct wavelength, not pulse duration. The immune system then gradually absorbs the fragmented chromophore (foreign) particles through the Lymphatic System.
Laser treatments enable photothermolysis and photoacoustic effect of chromophores in the epidermal/dermal layers of your skin.
What is Photothermolysis?
We use a specific wavelength to only target the chromophore particle, the laser light finds this particle and heats it up or breaks it up destroying it without affecting or damaging the tissue around it. Photothermolysis is achieved with Q-Switched/Nanosecond lasers. Q-Switched/Nanosecond is the thermomechanical mode of action.
What is the Photoacoustic Effect?
Our picosecond device uses a specific wavelength to only target the chromophore particle as well, the laser light finds this particle and breaks it up with an acoustic pressure wave, not heat, destroying it without affecting or damaging the tissue around it. The beauty of picosecond is that the laser light moves so fast, making the pulse extremely short, there is not enough time for any chromophores to heat up. This method is a mechanical mode of action.
Some skin conditions are multi layered within the skin, each treatment will only reach the upper most top layer of the area to be worked on, so several treatments are often required in order to get through to the bottom layer of the treatment area, each treatment shattering a layer of chromophores into smaller microscopic particles.
The denser the skin reaction/condition, the more treatments required. The smaller the shattered particles, the quicker the lymphatic system removes them and the sooner it disappears.
History of Lasers
The idea of lasers began in 1953 and began entering the public realm in 1960 with the first-ever unusable gas-powered laser which required liquid nitrogen cooling, it was very energy inefficient.
Dye lasers were developed in 1967 but were fixed at one wavelength only. So you had to have many different dye lasers on hand to switch.
It took a decade to refine and evolve lasers to work at room temperature, which wasn’t until 1969 that eventually solid-state lasers were safely produced.
The first laser ablation systems employed long wavelength, visible laser beams (693 nm ruby 1985) and infrared laser beams (1,064 nm Nd:YAG 1987) that were not absorbed well by transparent (at the laser wavelength) materials, resulting in physical fragmentation of the ablation site for some minerals.
Research between 1985 and 2000 demonstrated that shorter wavelength, ultraviolet lasers, particularly the 213 nm Nd:YAG and 193 nm ArF Excimer, ablated more minerals well (because more minerals absorb higher-energy photons), producing aerosols containing only a small fraction of particles too large to be vapourised in the ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) (2002).
Since 2000, femtosecond lasers have been used as an alternative to ultraviolet nanosecond lasers for LA–ICP–MS (Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry): their ultrashort pulse duration provides insufficient time for photon energy to dissipate into the target lattice to heat and induce melting prior to the explosive release of sample material (2002).
Both Ti-sapphire and Yb-diode femtosecond lasers, emitting at infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths, have been investigated but, as yet, there is no consensus on the most appropriate choice for LA–ICP–MS in terms of data quality, cost, and reliability.
What LA-ICP-MS?
Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry is a powerful analytical technology that enables highly sensitive elemental and isotopic analysis to be performed directly on solid samples. It can perform ultra-highly sensitive chemical analysis down to ppb (parts per billion) level — without any sample preparation.
