Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a widely used non-invasive skin treatment technology. It is highly favored in the field of medical beauty due to its high efficiency and safety. Among them, the number of sub-pulses is one of the key parameters affecting the treatment effect of IPL.

The number of sub-pulses refers to the number of small pulses contained in each pulse cycle of the IPL device. For example, when the device is set to 3 sub-pulses, each large pulse emitted will contain 3 small energy pulses that appear in sequence.

The energy of IPL is output in the form of pulses. Early single-pulse devices may cause the temperature of target tissues and surrounding normal tissues to rise too quickly due to concentrated energy release, thereby increasing the risk of thermal damage. The sub-pulse technology provides a heat dissipation window for target tissues and normal tissues by dividing a large pulse into multiple small pulses and leaving an interval between pulses. Because the target tissue heats up quickly and cools down slowly, while normal tissue heats up slowly and cools down quickly, this design can form a temperature difference after multiple irradiations, thereby reducing damage to normal tissue. Adjustment of the number of sub-pulses has a significant effect on the therapeutic effect of IPL. Taking acne treatment as an example, a study conducted a half-face control trial on 30 patients with acne, using triple pulses (4 ms-4 ms-4 ms) on one side and double pulses (4 ms-4 ms) on the other side. The results showed that the triple pulse mode was better than the double pulse, especially in the treatment of inflammatory acne.

Figure. From "Clinical Observation of Intense Pulsed Light ACNE Filter with Different Pulse Numbers in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris"

In addition, the selection of the number of sub-pulses needs to be adjusted according to the patient's skin type and treatment goals. For patients with lighter skin (type I-II skin), due to the low skin pigment content, single-pulse or double-pulse mode can meet the treatment needs, and the energy density can also act safely and effectively on the target tissue at a relatively high energy density. For patients with darker skin (type III-V skin), due to the high content of epidermal pigment, IPL energy is more easily absorbed by the epidermis, resulting in an increased risk of thermal damage. Therefore, multi-pulse mode (such as 2-3 sub-pulses) combined with a cooling system can better protect the epidermis while increasing the energy penetration depth and effectively acting on the target tissue in the dermis.

In IPL treatment, the selection of the appropriate number of sub-pulses should take into account the patient's skin type, treatment goals and safety. For patients with light skin, 1-2 sub-pulses are usually sufficient, while for patients with dark skin, 2-3 sub-pulses are recommended to improve the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

In addition, pulse width and pulse delay are also important parameters. Pulse width is usually between 3-5 milliseconds, while pulse delay is adjusted according to skin pigment density. The darker the skin color, the longer the pulse delay time is required to ensure that the epidermis has enough time to dissipate heat.

Figure. Pulse number and energy density selection (for reference only)

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Foremed Legend

The core founding team of Suzhou Foremed Legend Medical Technology Co., Ltd. comes from Peking University and other well-known universities at home and abroad. Foremed Legend focuses on the design, research and development and application of high-end medical beauty optoelectronic equipment based on compliance and product strength, and is committed to becoming a leading company in the field of high-end medical beauty optoelectronic equipment in the world, a provider of integrated intelligent solutions for diagnosis and treatment, and a pioneer of medical beauty data integration platform.

Through tackling a series of underlying key technologies, Foremed Legend has now independently developed a number of high-end medical equipment such as picosecond laser therapy devices, long pulse laser therapy devices, intense pulsed light therapy devices, photoacoustic imaging skin detection devices and cold air therapy devices, and continues to deepen the research and development of core product technologies, using better technical solutions to benefit the vast number of beauty seekers.

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