Mike Murphy's Blog

I have been around since before the invention of colour…..!!!

I have seen many excellent advances in the medical/aesthetic laser industry in that time. But I have also seen a few things which concern me greatly.

1. Poor training

I seem to be training more and more people who have already received ‘training’ on their lasers and/or IPLs. However, on most occasions, they tell me that they have no idea what they are doing or why, following that initial training.

In many cases they are simply told “turn this, push that button and fire…” The fundamentals behind their systems and their applications are not discussed. In some cases, they are specifically told “not to touch that” when enquiring about something on their laser/IPL.

This usually results in poor treatment outcomes and they, and their clients, do not understand why this is occurring. Consequently, their clients are returning far too many times for a treatment which is simply not working. The operators’ reputation is then ruined and they often blame their equipment. 

• 

In my training, I often refer to buying a new car and being told that the driver can only drive it in first gear. Most people appear to be using their equipment in first gear only. They simply don’t know that other gears are available!

I have concluded that this is mainly due to poor trainers. Of course, the buyers do not know this in advance. So, they are not aware that they had been poorly or badly trained. I often come across people who tell me things like “I didn’t know that” or “nobody told me that” or “why am I not aware of this?” 

Unfortunately in the UK, the training sector is unregulated. Anybody can offer training even after only one month’s experience! This is a serious problem which is wrecking many small businesses. I suspect the only way to address this is for the insurance companies to demand some level of competency from trainers… 

2. Calibration

Another serious concern is the number of systems out there which are not properly calibrated. I have measured quite a number of lasers and IPLs which simply do not output the fluence or energy which they claim. One IPL system I measured recently showed an output at only 20% of the claimed fluence. Such a low level will not generate any significant clinical results! 

Unfortunately, these manufacturers are getting away with it since they know that their buyers cannot check the outputs. As a consequence, these operators cannot generate good results. Once again they tend to blame that equipment. In this case though, they are quite right. 

As we point out in our eBook (https://online.flipbuilder.com/rbhw/bwhw/) finding a supplier who will calibrate your equipment on installation is important. This means that you know that your equipment will operate properly from day one.

If you are unsure whether your equipment is operating correctly please check with a reliable laser service engineer. This may be the difference between good results and bad. 

There are some other issues which concern me but I think this has been enough of a rant for today. If you have any comments on the above I would love to hear them. 

Thanks for reading, 

Mike.