Monthly Archives: March 2008

Phil Passy, Founder of MedX Health dies

Posted on 27 March 2008 by James Carroll

I was shocked when I heard that Phil Passy died unexpectedly 22nd February 2008. Phil was Founder, President and CEO of MedX Health and a fellow industry pioneer. I first met Phil in the year 2000 in Athens, Greece at the World Association for Laser Therapy meeting when he boldly asserted that one day LLLT products would move from highly individual products competing on technical differences to a near commodity product as industry standards for the technology and treatments were agreed. It was a visionary statement that I thought was crazy but now I believe he will ultimately be proven right. Any new technology requires passionate and persistent personalities behind it striving for years to achieve widespread adoption and Phil was one of bravest and hardest working figures in the industry. He radiated passion and his dogged persistence has created a publicly listed company leaving an indelible mark on the history of LLLT. Medicine is an exceptionally tough field to create a radical breakthrough in and whilst many have resorted to snake oil sales methods, … Continue reading →

Posted in PBM/LLLT | on Phil Passy, Founder of MedX Health dies

Realtime video of cellular response to pulsed near infrared “Light”

Posted on 24 March 2008 by James Carroll

Cell signalling governs basic cellular activities and coordinates cell actions. Cells respond to their local microenvironment and these signals may prompt tissue repair or immune response as well as normal tissue homeostasis. Guenter Albrecht-Buehler has conducted a series of experiments on cells with near-infrared light (NIR) and reports on how cells might be communicating with pulsed NIR. He also demonstrates with video how cell motility responds to a pulsed light stimulus.

Guenter Albrecht-Buehler, Ph.D.

Fellow, European Academy of Sciences, Brussels

Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies, Berlin

Robert Laughlin Rea Professor of Cell Biology

Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago

Posted in Research | on Realtime video of cellular response to pulsed near infrared “Light”

Oh no, not another LLLT society

Posted on 24 March 2008 by James Carroll

It’s not new, but it is clever. The American Society for Photobiology Kendric Smith makes the case for academics improving their knowledge of photobiological fundamentals.

Laser and LED Therapy is Phototherapy

All too frequently the people in the laser [and light emitting diode (LED)] phototherapy field are untrained in the basics of photobiology. This can lead to bad science and bad clinical trials, and can contribute to conflicting results concerning a given endpoint. Furthermore, it diminishes the stature of the field, and delays the admission of laser (and LED) phototherapy into the mainstream of science and medicine.Kendric C. Smith, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Radiation Oncology (Radiation Biology), Stanford University School of Medicine, Founder and First President of American Society for Photobiology.

Posted in Rants | on Oh no, not another LLLT society

No news to report

Posted on 19 March 2008 by James Carroll

There has been nothing monumental going on in the world of LLLT this last 7 days (my blog week starts on a Wednesday in case you are wondering). ASLMS and NZlaser2008 are both in April so I chose New Zealand. I subsequently received five separate requests to be in Florida in the last few days so maybe I will concede and see y’all at both.

Posted in PBM/LLLT | on No news to report

Literature Watch

Posted on 12 March 2008 by James Carroll

Here is my selection for the April 2008 Photomedicine and Laser Surgery

The Impact of low power laser in the treatment of conditioning-induced oral mucositis: a report of 11 clinical cases and their review.

Antunes HS, Ferreira EM, de Matos VD, Pinheiro CT, Ferreira CG

Serviso de Pesquisa Clinica, Instituto Nacional de Cancer, Rua Andre Cavalcante, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. hspindola@inca.gov.br

We have investigated the clinical effects of low power laser therapy (LPLT) on the treatment of conditioning-induced oral mucositis (OM) in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The evaluation of OM was done using the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS) and World Health Organization (WHO) scale. In the context of a randomized placebo-controlled trial with 38 patients for the evaluation of preventive LPLT, eleven individuals were submitted to allogeneic (AL) HSCT and developed oral mucositis grade 4 (WHO) or a total area of OM of 12 cm (OMAS) and due to that were treated with LPLT with the purpose of symptom relief. The irradiation used was a diode InGaAlP, emitting light at 660 nm, 50 mW and … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | on Literature Watch

“The wonders of medical science”

Posted on 4 March 2008 by James Carroll

Here is yet another study demonstrating the effect of LLLT for patents suffering from Oral Mucositis – how much longer can oncologists ignore this procedure ?

IF YOU ARE AN ONCOLOGIST READ THIS

1: Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2008 Mar 1;13(3):E189-92.

The Impact of low power laser in the treatment of conditioning-induced oral mucositis: A report of 11 clinical cases and their review.Antunes HS, Ferreira EM, Matos VA, Pinheiro CT, Ferreira CG.Dr. Héliton Spíndola Antunes, Servişo de Pesquisa Clínica, Instituto Nacional de Cancer (INCA), Rua André Cavalcante, n 37, 2 andar, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, CEP-20231-050, E-mail: hspindola@inca.gov.br.

We have investigated the clinical effects of low power laser therapy (LPLT) on the treatment of conditioning-induced oral mucositis (OM) in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The evaluation of OM was done using the Oral Mucositis Assessment Scale (OMAS) and World Health Organization (WHO) … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | on “The wonders of medical science”