Respond Laser Systems - Your Best Choice for Laser Therapy
 Respond Laser Systems - Your Best Choice for Laser Therapy
Introduction
Respond Systems manufactures three laser therapy systems: The Luminex Vet Laser, the Luminex Ultra Laser and the Respond 2400XL Laser. With a choice of wavelength, power, system design and price, one of our laser systems is sure to fit your needs.
Respond lasers are designed to work in difficult conditions, and built to last. It’s not unusual for our 2400XL Laser to be tossed around in the back of a truck or in a tack trunk, and for busy veterinary practices to move their Luminex Vet between rooms, to treat on the floor, or in the back of a client’s car. Respond Lasers stand up to all of these uses, providing many years of reliable service to our customers.
To learn more about laser therapy, click here to find out how laser is used as a therapeutic tool.
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Respond uses only LASERs, not LEDs
At Respond Systems manufacture our systems using only laser diodes, we do not make systems using light emitting diodes (LED’s). The vast majority of positive studies over the past 40 years support the benefits of Laser Therapy, not LED’s. Many manufacturers of LED systems will cite Laser studies in support of their products, but don’t be fooled! LED’s are not Lasers and do not produce the coherent light necessary to stimulate healing. Energy from LED’s also can cause heat at the surface, which is contraindicated for most acute conditions. By contrast, Laser Therapy stays cool, and can be safely and easily paired with treatments where icing is recommended.
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Laser Classifications – It's about Safety
 All laser devices are classified by the FDA based upon the hazard they present. Class 3 and Class 4 lasers are commonly used for Laser Therapy, with Class 4 presenting the greatest hazard, and requiring the most precautions. It is important to note that laser class is only about safety, and has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a device. Since most laser manufacturers produce only one Class of laser device, they will often claim the class of laser they produce is the best, or the only one appropriate for laser therapy! At Respond, we manufacture both Class 3 and Class 4 lasers, removing all the marketing hype, and providing our customers with clear options to fit their needs. Whether they are treating an injured horse at their barn, or treating dozens of patients a day at a busy veterinary clinic, we have a laser to do the job. Click to learn more about Respond Lasers
To help you understand the basic differences in power levels between lasers, the graph above shows the time required to deliver a typical dose between 1 and 4 Joules/sq.cm of laser energy. Looking at the chart, you will see that the 1 Watt laser (blue line) delivers a dosage of 1 joule in 1 second, while the 10Watt and 12 Watt lasers (yellow and red lines) delivers the same 1 joule in a fraction of a second. At these high powers, even a larger dosage of 4 Joules takes only about 1/3 of a second, which is impractical for therapy. In addition, at high power levels, lasers can heat up the surface very quickly and cause burns. The solution offered by the manufacturers of these devices is to move the probe constantly during treatment, making accurate dosing impossible, or to turn the laser power down to a more practical level. A laser system may advertise power up to 10 or even 12 Watts, but can that power level be used safely and effectively for therapy? Probably not.
It is true that more laser power can mean faster treatments, but too much power causes heating and burning, and cannot be used practically for laser therapy. Don’t make the mistake of paying too high a price for a laser system that is too hot and too powerful to deliver a safe and effective laser treatment. Laser Therapy is a stimulus for natural healing, and should never cause heat, or burn your patients.
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Respond Lasers- The Power of Cool
Class 4 laser systems are currently being aggressively marketed for veterinary use, with power levels ranging as high as 10 or even 12 Watts. Unfortunately, in addition to producing power levels impractical for laser therapy, many of these systems were not designed properly, and can cause unwanted and possibly dangerous heating and burning. At Respond Systems, all of our laser systems are designed using innovative technology to uniformly and safely distribute the laser power. By eliminating the hot spots that cause other probes to overheat and burn, Respond lasers can produce the high power necessary for faster treatments, without the concern for overheating, or burning the patient. All of our probes, between 500 milliWatts and 5 Watts can be used safely and effectively in the contact mode, without the need to move the probe around the treatment area to avoid heating. The World Association of Laser Therapy (WALT) recommends treatment in the contact mode as the most effective way to measure the dosage and optimize treatment outcomes. Click to learn more about Respond Laser Systems.
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Choosing the Right Wavelength
 Respond uses only 808nm and 904nm wavelength lasers in all of our systems, due to their well-researched positive effects, and the deep penetration of laser light at those wavelengths. Both 808 and 904nm, in the near-infrared range, permit more laser energy to penetrate deeply into the tissue, joints and muscles, stimulating healing without the absorption at the surface that causes heating and burning. The graph at left demonstrates the powerful effect of laser energy at 808 and 904nm when compared to other wavelengths of laser light studied. When compared to lower wavelengths such as 630nm where more energy is absorbed at the surface of the tissue, the graph shows that 808 and 904nm have roughly double the penetration capability. As a result of the lack of research, higher wavelengths above 950nm, including those at or near 980nm do not appear in the graph, and they should not be relied upon for laser therapy until published research has proven their effectiveness.
(Graphic from Hamblin, et al, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Mechanisms for Low Light Therapy, PROC of SPIE, Vol 6140, 614001, 2006. )
Two Types of Laser: Continuous & Super-Pulsed
Two types of laser diodes are commonly used in laser therapy, continuous wave (CW) laser diodes, and what are commonly known as "Super Pulsed" laser diodes. Both CW and Super-Pulsed laser diodes produce the same beneficial laser light, they just deliver the light to the tissue differently. Continuous diodes are used in most laser probes, and deliver a constant and stable power output, ideal for most treatment situations. Super pulsed laser diodes use very short pulsed of laser energy, just fractions of a second, but at very high power (up to 50Watts) to enhance laser penetration into deep tissue. By turning the laser on for a brief period at very high power, you achieve the benefit of deep penetration without the risk of heating or burning that arises when using higher power, continuous wave diodes for long periods. Super-pulsed diodes, incorporated into certain of our 2400XL laser and Luminex Vet Laser Probes produce a lower average power, but the very high peak power points push the laser energy safely past the skin, making them ideal for large animals, and for deep tissue treatment. A recent study of Super Pulsed Laser Penetration found our Respond 904nm Super-Pulsed laser penetrates through more than 6" tissue tested, including an equine neck, hock and a canine stifle joint. Using intense and short bursts of laser energy as high as 60 Watts (60,000mW), Super-Pulsed diodes push laser energy into the deepest tissue, with no heat or burning at the surface.
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Quality, Service and Support
Founded in 1986, Respond Systems, Inc. has been manufacturing therapeutic laser and pulsing electromagnetic field therapy systems for almost 25 years. Our equipment is designed and built with pride by our team of software and hardware engineers, in close consultation with veterinarians and our clients. All service and repairs are performed here at our factory in Branford, CT, USA under the supervision of the engineers who designed the equipment. Our lasers are built to last, and average between ten and twenty years of time in service. This commitment to quality is also expressed by the continual improvement of our products over time. As technology has advanced, we have included additional operating features such as pulsing frequencies, built in protocols, improved battery life, enhanced digital design and increased power. As new developments in laser therapy make additional improvements possible in the future, our designers will be hard at work integrating those advances into the next generation of equipment. We invite you to call us today, and join the ranks of those we are proud to call our customers, and our friends! |
