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Author Archives: James Carroll
Are “Superluminous Diodes” better or different than super bright LEDs ?
Peter Jenkins (PJ) and I are competitors in business but friends in search of the truth about LLLT devices, mechanisms, treatment method and dose. We have different strengths and one of Peters is his nose for BS and willingness to dig up the truth and write about it on public forums.
I was cruising the net as you do reading blogs and PR nonsense about LLLT when I read for the thousandth time a reference to “Superluminous Diodes”. So I dropped PJ a line to ask for his view on the use of these terms, and with his permission I am publishing his response:
On 1/26/11 1:58 PM, “James Carroll” wrote:
PJ
Just want to make sure we are on the same page on this …
Superluminous Diodes are a marketing hype term used exclusively by the LED therapy / LLLT industry and no better than LEDs right ?
On 26 Jan 2011, at 11:21, Peter A Jenkins wrote:
There are such devices – correctly called … Continue reading
Posted in Rants, Special Feature
on Are “Superluminous Diodes” better or different than super bright LEDs ?
LLLT Literature Watch for December 2010
39 papers for you to review in this edition including the effect of our THOR LED therapy on skeletal muscle recovery when compared with cold water therapy for athletes (well done Ernesto). Two oral mucositis studies, one was positive the other was negative, it just goes to show that correct irradiation parameters are important. This takes us to a total of 13 randomised controlled studies on oral mucositis. My friend Luis De Taboada has published his study on an Alzheimer’s rat model to good effect, There is an RCT on TB, another on muscle strength and two case studies with chronic, traumatic brain injury who had improved cognition following transcranial, LED therapy and much much more.
Comparison between cold water immersion therapy (CWIT) and light emitting diode therapy (LEDT) in short-term skeletal muscle recovery after high-intensity exercise in athletes-preliminary results.
Leal Junior EC, de Godoi V, Mancalossi JL, Rossi RP, De Marchi T, Parente M, Grosselli D, Generosi RA, Basso M, Frigo L, Tomazoni SS, Bjordal JM, Lopes-Martins RA
Center for … Continue reading
LLLT Literature Watch November 2010
65 LLLT papers for you to review, a new record high for this bi-monthly literature watch. This edition finds 14 human clinical trials, eleven of which happen to be maxillofacial or intraoral related conditions including LLLT treatments for mouth dryness, desensitisation of teeth, periodontitis, complex regional pain syndrome, preventing restenosis after percutaneous angioplasty and a case report where LLLT was highly effective in reversing the effects of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.
Clinical evaluation of Er:YAG, Nd:YAG, and diode laser therapy for desensitization of teeth with gingival recession.
Dilsiz A, Aydin T, Canakci V, Gungormus M
Department of Periodontology, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey. aydilsiz@yahoo.com
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three types of lasers, Er:YAG, Nd:YAG, and GaAlAs (Diode), as dentin desensitizers, as well as to determine both the immediate and late therapeutic effects on teeth with gingival recessions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 24 patients with 96 teeth with Miller’s class I or class II gingival recessions with clinically elicitable dentin hypersensitivity (DH) divided … Continue reading
Posted in Research
on LLLT Literature Watch November 2010
Bogus cold laser / LLLT training courses
I feel sorry for anyone curious about Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) / Cold Laser. There is a myriad of different products with extreme differences in specification:
- 635 – 980nm wavelengths
- 5mW – 12,000mW
- Laser vs LED‘s
- Super pulsed vs continuous vs gated CW
- Recommended treatment times ranging from a few seconds to several minutes
- Intervals ranging from daily to weekly
- Prices from $3,000 – $55,000
To make matters worse, many training courses are just sales pitches spiced with pseudoscience. You could try reading all the original research but it is a vast field and hard to get a good overview.
Here is my recommendation. Start by reading this Harvard Medical School review (which I co-authored). If you find it too heavy going come on our training course. It is substantially based on this paper but more simply illustrated, delivered in slow motion, you can ask questions as we go, all technical terms introduced in an understandable way.
Here is the THOR training plan