The ultimate guide to medical and veterinary lasers.
Medical and Veterinary Lasers Market in 2020 was $7.73B and is expected to be worth $ 18.06 Billion, in 2028 Globally. Lasers are everywhere in the medical world – LASIK, dermatology, urology, dentistry, etc.
Then how come laser technologies are not taught in medical and vet schools in the US?
The following series of blogs will help you to navigate the medical laser technology space, and make educated decisions regarding the needs and choices for your practice.
So, you are thinking about adding laser technology to your practice?
We can think of the following drivers:
- Provide better service to your patients.
- Me too.
- Coolness factor.
- Make more money.
- You are adventurous and interested in research.
Let’s take an in-depth look starting from the bottom of the list.
Research
Despite several decades of laser use in medicine and veterinary, there is no consensus regarding its clinical efficacy, let alone the optimal treatment protocols for light therapy. The field is still a Terra Nova and offers a lot of opportunities for valuable discoveries.
Recently published by Darryl L. Millis and Anna Bergh A Systematic Literature Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: Laser Therapy (Animals 2023, 13(4), p. 667) analyzed 2541 articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 1980 – 2020 and came to a conclusion that “the studies had limited scientific quality regarding these therapies, with a high or moderate risk of bias”. Conflicting study results and unclear application for clinical use are explained by the low quality of laser equipment used in treatment, poor understanding of the physical parameters of the laser equipment, and inadequate design of clinical trials. There are very few randomized, controlled trials. Further adding confusion to any discussion of therapeutic lasers the wide variety of treatment parameters; single or multiple wavelengths, dose – some researchers define it as energy density, others as energy per weight, duration of treatment, and its frequency.
If you have a penchant for research, laser therapy will provide you with ample opportunities. In this case, you should look at the most advanced veterinary lasers (K-Laser Speciale VET or Omnilase’s Eclipse-VLS) that have high power, multiple wavelengths and control of laser pulses parameters, and uniform laser beam, thus providing you with the versatile toolbox.
Economics
You definitely can add revenue to your business by offering laser treatments. The return on investment ranges from several months to under 2 years. In a separate blog, we will discuss different business models and cost structures that were successfully implemented in laser veterinary practice.
Image is everything
Research shows that human decisions to purchase goods and services are not necessarily based on rational thinking, facts, or statistics. Instead, the majority of us make purchase decisions based on unconscious associations and feelings. This is why ads feature beautiful models, adorable babies, and cute puppies. Lasers are strongly associated with high-tech, progress, cutting-edge research, and modernity. Adding laser technology to your practice will send a message to the customers that their pets are getting service based on the latest advances in veterinary science, not the same old, same old….
Me too
I am not talking about the #MeToo movement here. I am talking about intuitive, and often irrational decision-making based on parroting other people’s decisions. It’s estimated that more than 40% of veterinary clinics in the US use laser therapy and/or surgery. Therefore, it is natural to think that if so many others use it, it must be a value in this technology that you just did not recognize, yet. Basically “What do they know that I don’t?” “Am I not a member of the club?” This kind of peer pressure often leads to emotion-driven decisions – a fallacy that is well-established in behavioral decision theory, which examines the separation of objectively rational decision-making and intuitive decision-making.
If you see a lot of patients asking for laser therapy and you have to refer them to other clinics, then you may objectively need a laser system in your armamentarium. If not, you are probably better off leasing a system for a couple of months and testing if you are getting enough interest from your customers to justify a purchase. Many companies will offer you a short-term lease with favorable buyout options.
Provide better service to your patients
Will you? Does it really work? These are not rhetorical questions. Unfortunately, laser therapy attracted a lot of quackery. You will find unfounded claims of successful treatment of almost any condition known to medicine. While not necessarily these claims are fraudulent – in many cases the authors are just incompetent – it gave the field a bad name. Laser medicine is not a panacea. It would be prudent to exercise a healthy dose of skepticism when you use “scientifically proven” protocols for treating your patients. Do not get discouraged by this preamble, thousands of medical professionals use lasers every day and observe positive clinical outcomes.
It appears that lasers are effective in reducing pain. Both acute and chronic. Not always, not for everybody, but frequently enough to pay attention. If laser can help to reduce the amount of painkillers – why not?
Veterinary lasers are almost certainly help in wound healing. Whether a post-surgery treatment of an incision, degloving wound, or chronic wound, applying laser treatment as an adjunct modality is worth considering.
Reducing inflammation is another common application of laser therapy. From arthritis to anal sacculitis, every time you need to reduce an inflamed organ, laser therapy may help. There are numerous accounts of the successful application of veterinary lasers for treating upper respiratory conditions, otitis, abdominal and urinary tract conditions in small animals. Will you get a guaranteed clinical outcome? Probably not, and not in every case, but it is definitely worth trying.
In summary, veterinary lasers are here to stay. They are not a fad. The treatment protocols, and regiments will be rectified, the equipment will be improved, likely get cheaper, and become standard armamentarium in veterinary clinics.
We, as a veterinary laser manufacturer, are looking forward to it. If you decide to add laser to your practice or upgrade the existing equipment, talk to us. We will be happy to help .
