Energist UltraPlus VPL™ System
User Manual
SD1-43 Issue 3 (CCF 296)
77
Synopsis
Variable Pulsed Light (VPL™) reduces treatment-induced pain in patients undergoing
photodynamic therapy for actinic keratoses
Prof. Szeimies et al
Background:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using LED’s as the illumination source is a well documented
and established treatment alternative for epithelial skin cancer like basal cell carcinoma and
actinic keratoses (AK). The purpose of this study was to investigate an alternative illumination
source using variable pulse light (VPL™, Energist Ultra, Energist, U.K.).
Method:
A randomized parallel-group trial was conducted. A total of 25 patients were included
suffering from actinic keratoses (AK) on the skin and the scalp. Methyl aminolevulinate (MAL,
Metvix, Galderma, France) was applied on the targeted area for 3 hrs, subsequently one side
received an illumination with a LED light source, and the contra lateral side received
treatment with VPL™. Therapeutic outcome was evaluated using a lesion score after 2 weeks
and 3 months; pain assessment was made after each treatment side with the use of a visual
analogue scale (VAS).
Results:
After two weeks and three months, there was no significant difference between the
therapeutic outcomes using the different illumination systems. However, pain assessment
immediately after PDT revealed a significant lower pain level (4.3 vs. 6.4) for the VPL™
treated side.
Conclusions:
The use of the Energist Ultra VPL™ system (variable pulsed light) is thus an efficient and
useful alternative in the photodynamic treatment of AK where otherwise pain development
can be a limiting factor for the performance of PDT.
