Menu – Part 6: A Primer on Biostimulation and Biostimulation Lasers

In 1994, I wrote a series of three articles (and an editorial comment) on low level laser treatment (LLLT), especially for the treatment of carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) for Medical Laser Report. Here are those articles, along with one written by my friend Kathy Kincade, the editor of MLR, following the FDA approval of the biostimulation laser that was the subject of most of my writing. Her article appeared in the March 2002 issue of the newsletter.

1. Biostimulation: An Application Whose Time May Have Come

This first article appeared in the May 1994 issue of MLR. It followed a presentation by an FDA official at that year’s ASLMS meeting in Toronto, that discussed the FDA’s position about biostimulation and the possibility of at least one laser company, Lasermedics of Stafford, TX, achieving FDA marketing approval. It also mentioned an upcoming press conference that was to be held at General Motors in June, about a biostimulation study being conducted at the company in conjunction with Lasermedics.

2. GM Releases Carpal Tunnel Test Results

This second article, published in the September 1994 issue of MLR (because the press conference referred to above was postponed until August). It discusses the results of the double-blind study conducted on GM workers with carpal tunnel syndrome.

3. Low Level Light Therapy – Can Laser Biostimulation Be Taken Seriously?

This third article in the series was also published in the September 1994 issue of MLR. It discusses some of the history of low level laser treatment and the market potential in the United States for biostimulation lasers, if they ever are approved for marketing by the FDA.

4. Editorial Comment -- The Lasermedics Press Conference – "The Rest of the Story"

This editorial, telling the real story behind my writeup of the GM/Lasermedics press conference, was supposed to be published in the October 1994 issue of MLR, but was not – the reason is given in the writeup.

5. MicroLight Gains First FDA Biostim Approval

Just to conclude this series, I thought I would present the writeup that Kathy Kincade wrote in March 2002, following the FDA marketing approval for the MicroLight ML830 biostimulation laser. In it, she explains the trials and travails that the Michael Barbour had to go through to finally get his laser to market.