Page 98 - Chapter 3 - Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal

Chapter 3 – Fundamentals of Laser/IPL Hair Removal 1st Edition
Laser or IPL System” in Chapter 1). All flashlamps will reduce in efficiency with time, particularly if they are used at full power.
Some manufacturers will claim their lamps will operate for 50,000 shots or more. While this may be true what they probably are not telling you is that the average power output from such a lamp will most likely be significantly less than when new. A ‘good’ manufacturer will test their lamps for useful output. This typically means that they will measure the output over thousands of shots and define a ‘cut-off’ point. This may be the point where the power has dropped to 90% of the original power. The number of shots taken to reach this point will be defined as the lamp’s “useful lifetime”.
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers will do these measurements. Their lifetime claim will probably be when their lamps finally stop operating. This is not very useful at all. Long before this occurs the lamp will be outputting too little energy to be of clinical use. There is also a potential danger in allowing a lamp to keep firing until it expires. Some lamps may explode or fragment when nearing the end of their lifetime. This can result in damage within the system, particularly in the head. It is never a good idea to allow this to happen.
The only way to ensure this does not occur in your system is to buy a meter and to constantly check your energy output on a regular basis.
Flashlamp Cooling
Every time a pulse is fired the flashlamp is heated up to around 500°C. This can present a problem. If the lamp is allowed to stay at a high temperature for a sufficient time it will stop operating quite quickly. To prevent overheating they must be properly cooled. There are two methods of cooling – air and water.
Air Cooling
Some systems are designed with a handpiece which utilises air cooling to reduce the temperature of the flashlamp. This usually means that a flow of air is used to draw the heat from the lamp. While this is a relatively normal practice it is not particularly efficient. Air is not a good conductor of heat and so it can be difficult to ensure a useful, operational temperature in such systems. However, some manufacturers favour this method because it is easier to implement and cheaper. Hence, these units tend to be less expensive but more problematic and prone to lamp failures.
Water Cooling
Water cooling is a much better method of keeping flashlamps cool. Water is 24 times as efficient as air in transporting heat from any object. Surrounding a lamp with constantly flowing water will keep it cool and hence extend its lifetime and efficiency.
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