DEMO DAY WITH ASPEN LASER - PHOTOBIOMODULATION THERAPY

IPHA NEWS and HEALTH TECH REPORTER covers DEMO DAY at the Bard Diagnostic Imaging Center in NYC @ March 7, 2023.  National clinical trainer Mark Murdoch speaks in an interview about the Aspen Laser  technology while he treats registered patients suffering from various chronic disorders (including a rotator cuff tear & other MSK joint injuries,  psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis on the skin.

PHILOSOPHY BEHIND RED LASER THERAPY

Photobiomodulation is what we're actually doing when we look at red and near infrared light.  (it’s different from far infrared-that's a sauna creating deep heating in the tissue and sweating out toxins). Photobiomodulation is the application of red and near infrared light to tissue where there is disease or dysfunction.  The mechanism of action of light is very simple. It doesn't treat any specific disease or diagnosis, but it treats the underlying cause of all dysfunction in the body (all disease) and that is cellular health and wellness.

Within the cell, oxygen is supposed to flow into the mitochondria, which is the powerhouse of the cell, and that's supposed to produce adenosine triphosphate or ATP.  This is what every cell in the body uses for energy.  Due to exposure to via environmental toxins, lack of sleep, stress, injury and disease, lack of exercise, too much exercise, not enough sunlight, poor nutrition etc. oxygen flows in the cell and then it's bound by nitric oxide. That binding of nitric oxide with oxygen forms a deadly particle called a free radical.  This causes two problems: #1- that oxygen is now not free to go into the mitochondria- so our ATP production in the body drops.  #2- there's the abundance of free radicals is the root of every disease. It's the gene expression for things like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.  So what light does very simply is when we shine light in and we can get light into the cell at the right wavelength, dosage and power density, it simply unbinds the oxygen particle and the nitric oxide particle and the free radical is dissipated into the blood vessel walls. So now we have removed free radicals and inflammation inside the cell. Also, the oxygen respiratory chain starts up again and that oxygen particle is allowed to flow into the mitochondria, and the ATP now goes through the roof and rises again the body. So now you have a perfectly operating cell, which then does its job of treating disease, treating tissue repair, treating dysfunction in the body, 

What makes the Aspen Apex laser unique starts with all the wavelengths used.  Our devices carry four wavelengths and every wavelength of light is like a different kind of medicine. Each wavelength is a different color of medicine and produces a different response in the body.  By using four kinds of medicine (laser), we're treating concurrently- using all of them at the same time.  We apply the 10 64 wavelength- an extremely deep penetrating wave signal that goes deep beyond the top layer of the skin surface or the epidermis or the top layers of the muscle tissue. It's a deeply penetrating wavelength, and we deliver all of the dosage because light is dose-dependent medicine.  We are able to deliver all of the dosage deep into the tissue without any of the dosage being lost in your superficial tissues like most wavelengths.  

Our design allows us to turn on or off each wavelength individually and adjust (personalize) the power with wavelengths individually.  As data, research and science changes, and tells us that certain power on certain wavelengths works better and lower power on and others works better, we can actually change that on the laser to customize each treatment based on the patient's reaction. It's not a one size fits all.

 Aspen was started by Charles Vorwaller 30 years ago. He was able to hone in on what wavelengths, what power, what combinations, work properly for specific clinical response. What fascinates me about light therapy is that I had never seen clinical results this fast and actually last permanently.  Patient response is quite high for something non-invasive, non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical and has no known side effects.  Average treatment application can be done in a matter of five to 10 minutes in a single treatment.

 

ON IMAGING

Anytime you can monitor a patient other than subjective questions, (my pain, my mobility, all those things) when we can actually measure it with a tool, like ULTRASOUND, it gives us that objective data that we need to.  Hence, to be conclusive is to measure and know what's going on, and then to be able to reflect that back to the patient regardless of how they feel.  There's always a better feeling, but regardless of how they feel, acquiring data that says, “this is where you were, this is where the treatment is, and this is where you are now!”

Imaging gives the patient confidence to continue the care knowing that our treatment is actually helping and that it's moving forward.  To know that it's not just psychosomatic, but they see data and what gets monitored and tracked and gets repeated. So that makes for a more compliant patient and then gets us a faster and better result.

Connecting with Dr. Bard offered us great real-time monitoring through his innovation in diagnostic tools and tracking. Some of the things we've done here today are tracking pre and post light sessions as far as what's happening in in the tissue, what's happening with blood flow.   We look at the imaging under the skin surface that normally people wouldn't be able to see.  By this, we can track different things with light therapy, but on the average, most response happens over time.   We don't have to wait till their next visit to identify response. We can adjust our treatment midflight- and change the components on the laser thanks to the immediate feedback from image guidance-- not just from the patient.

 

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FROM THE BRAIN HEALTH COLLABORATIVE

11/18/2022- RED LIGHT THERAPY FOR TBI (By: Jennifer Stagg, ND) Within the past decade, ads for Red Light Therapy (RLT) devices have exponentially appeared in the health, wellness and commercial markets- drawing significant attention to their claims and challenging their efficacy.  As with all technologies, many variables are to be considered as far as concluding on their proposed health benefits. Published reports from clinical (valid) studies detailing the utility of RLT in human health.  Encouraging reviews indicate that there is a growing body of evidence for the use of RLT in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and neurodegenerative processes, including Stroke and Parkinson’s disease. 

CONCUSSION EXAMS (Part 2)- THE BENEFITS OF IMAGING: Concussion literature notes that in a Funduscopic exam, the retinal arterial-venous width will show as ASYMMETRIC (indicative of possible trauma). This is a potential response of the autonomic nervous system.   Microcirculatory hemodynamics that are optically visible are useful in validating the treatment progress. (see complete review). Now that radiologists are using Doppler blood flow to examine eye disease, including systemic diseases (including Diabetes, Brain tumors, heart disease, sickle cell disease etc.) that affect the eye, we are hopeful that the ophthalmologic and neurological communities will start using this noninvasive technology as well to improve noninvasive and more rapid treatment of potential eye disorders, such as cancers of the eye, diabetes and glaucoma.  Another future use will be to correlate the effect of decreased vascular pulsation in the production of cerebrospinal fluid that is removed by the cleansing glymphatic system is postulated as a contributing factor in degenerative neuromuscular disease.

12/7/2022- What is NEUROPLASTICITY? This is defined as the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections after injuries, such as a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI). The word Neuroplasticity ignites a feeling of hope. For clinicians and therapists working with patients with all types of brain injuries, understanding neuroplasticity is crucial. Because neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new learning and new experiences, it can change both a clinician's choice of therapeutic techniques as well as the duration of the patient’s therapeutic program.  (See complete report by Marilyn Abrahamson)

12/23/2022 NEUROSCIENCE MADE FRIENDLY: MEET DR. PATRICK PORTER, globally recognized neuroscience expert and the author of award-winning books, including "Awaken the Genius (Mind Technology for the 21st Century). Dr. Porter is also the innovator of the groundbreaking brain optimizing technology known as Brain Tap.  With 20 years of experience operating the largest self-help franchise in the world, he has become a highly sought-after expert within the personal improvement industry, having sold over 3 million of his self-help products worldwide.  Dr. Porter has been on the cutting edge of brainwave entrainment technology for 32 years. He was a co-developer of the MC2, the first personal light & sound brain training machine, voted “Best New Gadget of the Year” at the 1989 Consumer Electronics Show.  And his team was voted the “Best New Health APP” at 2019 Consumer Electronic Show.

7/19/2022- TECH REVIEW: 2022 TRENDING INTEREST IN BRAIN HEALTH-- IPHA NEWS conducted a private interview with the co-developers of NEUROVINE - a portable headband using EEG (electroencephalogram) technology to measure brain waves.  Meet CEO Ashleigh Kennedy, Ph.D., and CMO Matthew Kennedy, MD, MSc (co-founders of Neurovine) from Ottawa, Ontario, CA. who shares their objectives in support of concussion monitoring by measuring brain health as part of optimizing their recovery process. Neurovine offers this portable interactive monitoring program for athletes, students, professionals and anyone undergoing mentally strenuous work by “alerting them to take brain breaks before an activity becomes too strenuous”.

10/25/2022- HEALING, STRESS AND THE PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEM:  Analyzing STRESS & ANXIETY from a holistic point of view means identifying the body’s interconnected systems (ie. circulatory, cardiovascular, nervous, lymphatic, endocrine etc.) and its many touch points for stimulation.   This analysis should also offer a comprehensive breakdown of the body's HEALING capacity- which includes our hormones, digestive system, immune system, brain, heart-- all the way down to our cells and mitochondria.   Stress is part of life, and comes in many forms including physical, emotional, mental and environmental. Foods we eat, unhealthy relationships, difficulties at work, toxins in our environment, even poor posture or lack of sunshine can all create stress on our bodies. (See complete report by: Dr. Roberta Kline)

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT SPECIALIST FOR YOU: Whether you're searching for a primary care physician or a cosmetic specialist, shopping for any doctor can be quite a challenge. Ingredients for finding a professional that you can trust with your life rely heaviest on their reputation, expertise and qualifications found under smart research methods. REFERRALS: As medical professionals are now heavily participating in commercial marketing platforms (such as broadcast and podcast commercials, youtube videos, social media promotion and public relations campaigns), the most favored influencer about any practitioner is still word of mouth. At least starting with a recommendation from a friend, colleague or family member, getting positive feedback about a practitioner through others' experience is a great place to begin. (see complete report)

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