No one has any info on Alma lasers?

LOL, we in general don't think much of ALma products. They are typically a very proficient copy-cat company.

pmdoc could you please elaborate on that statement. A little more information would be helpful.

what else can pmdoc do except elaborate. All he does is make blogs so he must not have a life or a practice.... pmdoc must be a want a be.

Alma has 4 basic products:
1)an All-in-one IPL/IR based harmony which many companies (Syneron,Palomar,Lumines) also offered
2)a Soprano (810nm Diode) for hair removal. A compromiser device trying to cover "all skin types" as compared to the gold standards of 755nm for fitz I-III and 1064 Nd-YAG for III-VI. Personally I would not use it for V and VI
3) The Accent: a "unipolar" RF device for skin tightening. Alma is currently in an infringement lawsuit with Thermage, the owner of "monopolar RF" patents. Thermage came out in late 2002. Accent came out May 2007
4) The Pixel: a fractional Erbium based device based on a stamping technique not optical scanning technique. I believe they offer the CO2 version now
I hope this helps. When you make your decision, make sure it "is appropriate" for your targeted demographics. Make sure the device offers strong enough power (those with 220V) and can have various spot sizes and pulse durations. Companies with good and solid laser products are Lumines, Sciton, Cynosure, Palomar, Candela and MedLite (Hyo-Bicon)

Thanks, realDoc for being so complimentary. It is partially true in that today I am a bit less busy after being quite swamped with work since March. Typical slow week after a long holiday.

Dear pmdoc!

The Alma Laser360 is a broad band light source, isn' it? How can they use the term "laser" for a system which is not a LASER? What is your opinion about a "car" wich has only 2 wheels and no engine? Is it a car or just a bicycle?

Alam Laser 360 is an Alma version of the Cutera 3-D, a 3 step regimen of IPL for photofacial, a vascular laser and an Infrared laser for skin tightening

thanks pmdoc

Actualy demo'd the Harmony and the 360 is a IR for tightening IPL for pigment or vascular and their Pixel (fractional Erbium) over the top. Actually is a nice .5 day downtime procedure that can be replicated w/ other platforms

Thank you pmdoc. that helps. great info.

I've also been looking at a Palomar starlux 500 and Sciton.

Most of the people in my demographic are skin type I-III, however there is a moderate size hispanic population ranging from skin type IV to V and some VI.

I can see that an IPL/ND-Yag device like sciton may be a good choice.

PNDOC, What is your comment about CoolTouch Lasers? For example, The CoolLipo and the CT3 Plus for skin tightening

these other lasers do not use in motion technology that alma does therefore they are not truly pain free. alma has this edge.

thermage sucks compared to accent, give me a break.

thermage causes erythema, swelling and is painful! why would any consumer choose this over the accent?

Does anyone knows if Accent has FDA approval for cellulite treatments or skin tightening ? I went to the FDA and did not find anything . How can the market the product if they do nt have any approval/

Just expanfing my 10 year Dermatology practice in the Dominican Republic. Already purchased a Lipomassage and an Italian DEKA Synchro HP Laser Patform with Nd:Yag and IPL that may accept addition of 1064 nm Q-switch and an Erbium Yag hand piece for an additional 15K.

I have enough resources to buy one more piece of equipment and am undecided between DEKA CO2 fractional laser and Accent RF My partner votes for CO2, but I am thinking of something less invasive and that sells faster.

Any opinions? Please help.

DOMREPDermasurgeon

I would also vote for the CO2. Personally, I do not think the Accent would be my first choice.

I would be careful with CO2. Fractional erbium might be better considering 80-90% of the population is fitz 3-6 from what I have seen (been there a few times). This might give more predictable results and a faster sell (lower cost per Tx)

Please help me medspa elders ( LH, pmdoc, etc),
I have a btx/filler practice with big percent of patients sun damaged fitz I-III and am considering a platform system, i have tried Harmony (inc Pixel), Cutera Xeo (inc Pearl) and am about to try the Sciton.
2 questions:
1. Why are the sciton and Harmony reps trying to talk me out of the 1064 head on their machines?
2. Results wise, is there a huge difference between these machines?
If reps answer these question, please identify yourself as such. I'll respect you for it.

PacficiWestDoc:
In general CoolTouch lasers are good. The CoolLipo is a 1320nm device. In general, it is a good "laser-assisted lipolysis" device but if you really cannot get much fat out unless you also have to do the traditional liposuction at the same time. The CoolLipo and SmartLipo can only "suck" the liquid or "melted part" of fat but not the fat "bulk" which makes up the majority of adipose tissues. For the high price, consumable cost of the laser fibers and limited application, I could not find a good justification for them at this time. However, if you want to buy one of them, I would recommend the CoolLipo over the SmartLipo. CT3plus: in general a 1064 or 1320nm device is very good for skin tightening due to its deeper penetration and water absorption profile and safety in all skin types.
DOMREPDermasurgeon:
I would recommend a CO2 or erbium device over Alma Accent.
Ladymissdoc:
It is imperative that you FIRST have a good handle on WHICH SERVICES you want to offer in your practice. What you have been doing previously was the opposite, i.e. allowing the salesreps to "manipulate" you in "shaping" your offerings based on what their machine is capable of doing. This is a wrong way of going about your business. Decide first of what services to offer, then find out WHICH laser platform(s) would be best based on your clients' ethnic profile. Only after doing these that you should start having the reps come. This will provide you with much prior knowledge and leverages to deal with salesreps in general.

pmdoc,
Sorry for late response. Thanks for your very sensible advice.
I would like to offer capillary removal (facial only), pigment removal (including for large areas -freckles etc), skin texture improvement, wrinkle improvement, hair removal and acne scarring if possible.
What do you think?

Alma Harmony Pixel Pricing? Does anyone know what the standard price is in the U.S. for a Harmony system with the Pixel hand piece? With the flat beam Pixel AND the fractional as well? Can you just purchase the Pixel hand piece and save money by leaving out the IPL hand pieces???

Medspa guy,

It is about $10,000 US without the IPL.

CanMd: You must mean $100,000 US. In Aesthetics Buyer's Guide it says the Pixel hand piece alone is $28,000. Do you know how much the fractional Pixel is??

Sorry, that should be $100,000.