Red Light Therapy – Warp10 Review

[Twickle Purple]

I will post on each of the 4 different units as they come in.
The reviews will be ongoing.

See the Dimalux Review here. (http://forum.rosaceagroup.org/viewtopic.php?t=4118)
See the Photon Tender Skin Machine TPB-300 review here. (http://forum.rosaceagroup.org/viewtopic.php?t=4133)

This is the third unit to arrive, the Warp10 (http://www.warp-heals.com)

http://www.anniroc.com/TP/Devices/Warp10-complete.jpg

I received this a couple weeks ago but hadn’t gotten around to posting on it. I was originally not going to use this on my face. It’s not built for that purpose. I bought it because it is made by the folks that pioneered the technology for NASA. It was this reason more than the RLT that motivated this purchase. The sessions are very brief (about 80 seconds) and very intense (brighter than any other unit I’ve seen). I have ended up carrying this with me to the office and where ever I am in the house. It’s a terrific pain reliever. I use it on my shoulder and neck instead of taking advil. I use it on my hip at night and my hands while I work. My husband has mild arthritis in 3 knuckles on his left hand. He hasn't been able to snap his fingers for a long time. One treatment and he was snapping those fingers -- it worked a lot better and faster than we expected. Both of us wondered: Can it really be this easy? He's going to do one session a week to stay free of the stiffness and pain.

Facial Neuralgia

The most surprising use is on my chin. I get atypical facial neuralgia, it’s very painful and will take me out for hours when I have an ‘attack’ – nothing prevents it and nothing makes the pain go away when I’m in it. I am learning, through Froggirl’s posts, that this may be tied to my flushing. They are both centered on the same area. The biggest trigger for this is temperature change, it can be from food or environment. I have an episode without fail every time I come into the house after I go for a walk in cool weather. So, this past week I grabbed the Warp10 because I was really hurting under my jawline -- and it stopped it, and it went away… After that, anytime it started I’d grab the unit and it stops it. This is a bigger deal than what the Dimalux does for my skin, life goes on with horrid skin, life stops with this pain. I have my life back, this is a huge deal for me. Anyway, enough of that. I’ll post on the unit now.


http://www.anniroc.com/TP/Devices/Warp10.jpg

http://www.anniroc.com/TP/Devices/Warp10-head.jpg

http://www.anniroc.com/TP/Devices/Warp10-lit.jpg


Warp10 Specification from the online brochure:

“Improving the Quality of Life through the Power in Light”

The innovative WARP 10 is brought to you by Quantum Devices, Inc. (QDI); the company that invented HEALS® (High Emissivity Aluminuferous Light-emitting Substrate), solid-state lighting systems for NASA that have become the gold standards for photobiomodulation (PBMT) research, photo dynamic cancer therapy and agriculture research.

The WARP 10 is a high intensity, hand-held, portable, LED (light emitting diode) unit, intended for the treatment of chronic pain by emitting energy in the near-infrared (near-IR) spectrum. This includes: the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, arthritis and muscle spasms; and relieving stiffness, promoting relaxation of muscle tissue and temporarily increasing local blood circulation, where applied. WARP 10® LED device delivers high intensity, therapeutic, photon energy.

Quantum WARP 10® Features:
• High intensity 50 mW/cm2 illuminated surface produces 4 Joules/cm2 dose in 80 seconds
• Large 10 cm2 treatment area
• Dose accuracy controlled by an electronic timing circuit (timer)
• Remains cool to the touch
• Easy to operate with one hand
• Approximately 50 doses with eight “AA” Alkaline Batteries
• Designed to use Standard “AA” Alkaline Disposable Batteries or “AA” NiMH Rechargeable Batteries
• “Low Battery” indicator light to ensure full dose Delivery
• Certified wavelength (670 nm) and power output

The Quantum WARP 10 light delivery system is used for applying therapy for the mitigation of chronic pain by emitting near-infrared (near-IR) light via an LED (light emitting diode) energy source. System
controls are conveniently located on the top panel for easy light dose delivery. This device is solid state and hand-held for placement directly on the skin where treatment is to occur. Recommended treatment can be one or more timed light delivery cycles to the treatment area per day.

Light Source of Choice:
Originally developed under a contract for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) by QDI, the pioneers of the NASA HEALS technology, the WARP 10 is designed to assist armed forces personnel on the front lines with immediate first aid and care for minor injuries and pain. Thereby improving endurance in combat.

The WARP 10® Difference:

In addition to the benefit of providing localized pain relief, biologists have discovered that cells exposed to near-IR light from LEDs grow 150% to 200% faster with the intensity of light only provided by the WARP 10® HEALS® (High Emissivity Aluminiferous Light-emitting Substrate) technology. A single daily dose of this intensity of light is thought to stimulate the basic energy process of the mitochondria (energy compartment) of each cell to support the healing process.

The hand-held WARP 10® produces 50 mW/cm2 of photon flux (power) in the near-IR portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (650-950nm), which is defined as the wellness spectrum. The figure above illustrates that the WARP 10® will produce 80 times more photon energy than a 250 Watt heat lamp or 6.4 times more photon energy than the Solar “Air Mass 1.5 Standard,” as compared to the same spectral bandwidth of the WARP 10®. The HEALS® technology advantage reduces the time required for each therapeutic dose and provides for faster multi-dose exposures without the harmful affects of UV (Ultra-Violet) solar radiation.

Physical Specifications

Warp 10® Dimensions:
5.55 in. (141mm) x 2.65 in. (67nm) x 2.0 in. (51mm)

Weight (with Batteries):
1.2 pounds (547 grams) with Batteries

DC Battery Power Requirements, per WARP 10®:
Eight Size AA Standard 1.5V Alkaline,
(type AA, LR6, 15A)
or Eight Size AA Rechargeable NiMH, (type AA)

Environmental Specifications:
Operating Temp: 50° to 104° F / 10° to 40° C
Storage Temp: -22° to 131° F / -30° to 55°C
Relative Humidity: 10 to 95% Non-condensing, for Storage

Total Cost (US$):
$585.95
Shipping to Canada $18.78, UPSPS Global Express Priority
Credit Card Charge $0.00
1 Years parts and labor warranty $0.00
Total $ 604.73

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COMMENTS

I don't see the need to add anything on this, it's not going to do anymore than it is doing so far. It uses LEDs I've never seen before. I used regular batteries while the charger was charging the NIMH ones that came with it. The regular batteries last about 25% as long as the rechargable ones. At first I was pretty disappointed I couldn't plug it in, but now I love the portability. The unit is just molded plastic, nothing to it really. I looks like it might have cost about $10 to manufacture, the technology is what I'm buying though. They include the 8 NIMH batteries and charger which is a good value add considering, and it's a really good charger. I'm going to buy one of these for my mom as a Christmas present.

[Steve95301]

The WARP 10 is a high intensity, hand-held, portable, LED (light emitting diode) unit, intended for the treatment of chronic pain by emitting energy in the near-infrared (near-IR) spectrum. This includes: the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, arthritis and muscle spasms; and relieving stiffness, promoting relaxation of muscle tissue and temporarily increasing local blood circulation, where applied. WARP 10® LED device delivers high intensity, therapeutic, photon energy.

I know of an unpopular man who once said this very thing.


The WARP 10® Difference:

In addition to the benefit of providing localized pain relief, biologists have discovered that cells exposed to near-IR light from LEDs grow 150% to 200% faster with the intensity of light only provided by the WARP 10® HEALS® (High Emissivity Aluminiferous Light-emitting Substrate) technology. A single daily dose of this intensity of light is thought to stimulate the basic energy process of the mitochondria (energy compartment) of each cell to support the healing process.


This is why applying RLT after an IPL txt isn't a good idea.

Edit: Wait, I can't help myself:

http://www.anniroc.com/TP/Devices/Warp10-head.jpg

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave."

[redhotoz]

Hi TP

Great to see you posting again!

I've thought about getting my boyfriend (Greg) to build me a portable unit for the times I go away. I haven't tried near infrared though. Greg might be more interested in doing this now, as he has RA. I've given him a bottle of Oil of Oregano to rub into the sore areas and have tried Emu Oil too but one application is not going to do much. Getting him to do it on a regular basis is not so easy. So this might just be the thing for him to try on his RA.

I also think this may be a good option for my stiff neck/shoulder muscles. I had a car accident many years ago that messed things up a bit there. So a small portable unit with only 80 second treatments sounds great.

Thanks for all the links. Lots of reading to be done! Whew!

Jen

[Twickle Purple]

This is particularly relevant to any of us that have nerve pain either post Laser Treatment or for any other reason. I've posted elsewhere that Neurontin (Gabapentin) does not rid me of pain or lessen the attacks, it just allows me to tolerate them better. Nothing has every worked, until I tried the Warp10. It works for me and I've had this for many years and have been treated by neurologists, who can only offer me more drugs.

Here's some info I dug up to support the results I am getting with my facial neuralgia, it is from a study on folks with post herpes neuralgia -- facial nerve pain.

Studies on soft-laser therapy
HERPES:

DOUBLE BLIND CROSSOVER TRIAL OF LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY (LLLT) IN THE TREATMENT OF POST HERPETIC NEURALGIA - HERPES


Kevin C Moore MB ChB FRCA Naru Hira. Parswanath Kramer, Copparam Jayakumar & Toshio Ohshiro
Department of Anaesthesia, The Royal Oldham Hospital,


Post herpetic neuralgia can be an extremely painful condition which in many cases proves resistant to all the accepted forms of treatment. It is frequently most severe in the elderly and may persist for years with no predictable course. This trial was designed as a double blind assessment of the efficacy of low level laser therapy (LLLT) in the relief of the pain of post herpetic neuralgia with patients acting as their own controls. Admission to the trial was limited to patients with established post herpetic neuralgia of at least six months duration and who had shown little or no response to conventional methods of treatment. Measurements of pain intensity and distribution were noted over a period of eight treatments in two groups of patients each of which received four consecutive laser treatments. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in the pain intensity and distribution following a course of low level laser therapy.
Laser Therapy. 1988; 1: 7.

EFFICACY OF LOW REACTIVE-LEVEL LASER THERAPY (LLLT) FOR PAIN ATTENUATION OF POSTHERPETIC NEURALGIA - HERPES


Osamu Kemmotsu, Kenichi Sato, Hitoshi Furumido, Koji Harada, Chizuko Takigawa, Sigeo Kaseno, Sho Yokota, Yukari Hanaoka and Takeyasu Yamamura
Department of Anaesthesiology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, N-15, W-7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060, Japan


The efficacy of low reactive-level laser therapy (LLLT) for pain attenuation in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) was evaluated in 63 patients (25 males, 38 females with an average age of 69 years) managed at our pain clinic over the past 4 years. A double blind assessment of LLLT was also performed in 12 PHN patients. The LLLT system is a gallium aluminium arsenide (GaAlAs) diode laser (830 nm, 60 mW continuous wave) Pain scores (PS) were obtained using a linear analog scale (0 to 10) before and after LLLT. The immediate effect after the initial LLLT was very good (PS: 0-3) in 26, and good (PS: 7-4) in 30 patients. The long-term effect at the end of LLLT (the average number of treatments 36 +/- 12) resulted in no pain (PS: 0) in 12 patients and slight pain (PS: 1-4) in 46 patients. No complications attributable to LLLT occurred. Although a placebo effect was observed, decreases in pain scores and increases of the body surface temperature by LLLT were significantly greater than those that occurred with the placebo treatment. Our results indicate that LLLT is a useful modality for pain attenuation in PHN patients and because LLLT is a non invasive, painless and safe method of therapy, it is well acceptable by patients.
0898-5901/91/020071-05$05.00 Ì 1991 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Twickle Purple]

This site is geared to veterinarians, as they have been using this since the early 70s. Anyone interested in LLLT should read articles regarding this usage, this is akin to animals 'trials' and has the most information. It also references human studies.

http://www.emersonww.com/LaserFAQs.htm

An excerpt:

Q. Are there any negative effects from LLLT?

A. In all the years that low level lasers have been tested in research and clinical applications, no adverse side effects or negative impacts have been reported. This is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies lasers like the Respond Laser Therapy Systems as “Non-Significant Risk” devices, requiring a minimum of safety precautions. The only precaution is that which discourages direct viewing of the laser beam. Care should be exercised not to stare into the laser beam or to point it at the eyes, and the use of safety glasses is recommended.

Q. How long have low level lasers been used for therapy?

A. Low level lasers have been used by doctors in hospitals and clinics in Europe on both humans and animals since the early 1970’s. In fact, the first studies reporting positive effects of laser on wound healing in rats were reported by the Hungarian researcher Andre Mester as early as 1968. In the United States, therapeutic lasers have been used by veterinarians since the late 1970’s. Just recently the U.S. FDA has given marketing approval to laser therapy devices for human use, beginning the trend to widespread use of LLLT in the United States.

Q. In simple terms, what does LLLT do?

A. A huge amount of research data has been collected on the effects of laser therapy (over 2000 double-blind studies) both in laboratory and clinical settings. The following excerpts demonstrate some of the most significant results: (Check the bibliography if you would like to do some in-depth reading.)

1. Wound healing is significantly improved by low level laser therapy, even non-healing wounds, thought to be due to the increased level of collagen brought about by laser treatment. Collagen, the chief constituent of connective tissue, is recognized as the most important ingredient in wound healing. See Dr. Andre F. Mester and Dr. Adam Mester, LLLT and Wound Healing, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., 1989.

2. Increases in blood flow by means of capillary and arterial widening of the lumen of blood vessels, vasodilatation. See Dr. Toshiaki Kami, Effects of Low Power Diode Lasers, Annals of Plastic Surgery, Vol. 14, No. 3, March 1985. (Dr. Kami’s work also showed that the laser light significantly increased the formation of new capillary paths in treated areas, which resulted in increased circulation.)

3. Marked improvement in re-establishment of the lymphatic system after trauma, resulting in reduction of swelling. This is due to the evacuation of dirty proteins by the regenerated lymphatic vessels. (See Dr. P.C. Lieven, The Influence of Laser on the Lymphatic Systems, Presented at the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Eight Annual Meeting, Dallas, Texas 4/25-4/28, 1988)

4. Laser light stimulates release of the body’s own killing chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins Facilitating natural, long lasting pain relief. Dr. Wolfgang Rauermeister, Director of Pain Control Center at Parkwood Hospital, Massachusetts, USA has provided the best explanation of these pain reduction capabilities:
“The laser light stimulates the release of the body’s own pain killing chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins from the brain, adrenal glands, and other areas, thus facilitating long lasting pain relief.”

Low level laser therapy is an effective therapy, working in harmony with the body’s own healing and relieving mechanisms. There are no harmful side effects reported from laser therapy.


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An LED and a laser device using 660nm wavelength light will create the same response in the body. The difference is coherent and non-coherent light.

Here's a bit from this site (http://www.redlighthealing.com/facts.htm) that explains it succinctly:

Monochromatic single wavelength light can only be produced in two ways - Low Power/Cold Laser (coherent light) or with a powerful light-emitting diode, LED (non-coherent light). Although much of the low power laser research is directly applicable to the use of LED's, LED's non-coherent light is entirely safe.

Dr Tiina Karu, of the Laser Technology Centre of Russia, found in the late 80's that the non-coherent light (LED's) was found to be as effective as coherent light and without the risk associated with cold lasers.

[Twickle Purple]

PLEASE NOTE THE WARP10 IS NOT FOR SKIN TREATMENT.

I know I covered this in my original post, but really want to avoid confusion.

The literature posted here speaks to this device.

Please refer to the many other RLT/LLLT threads for information on devices designed for skin application.