NEW PRODUCTS ABOUT TO BE LAUNCHED.
During Covid supply chains were upset, companies changed, veterinary practice became more demanding, and my focus on Crane Laser had to be sidelined somewhat.
Roll forward to 2025, and new opportunities have evolved. Retirement from general practice and practice ownership has allowed me to source new manufacturers. But especially one who has been willing to allow me to develop a new user interface, that I believe is state of the art. Issues on dosing protocols have always existed when manufacturers starting applying preset protocols to the user interface in an attempt to make them more “user friendly” by basically “dumbing them down”.As a consequence reliable responses to laser therapy is compromised by inaccurate dosage delivery. Ask yourself a few questions.
If a black dog needs a different dose compared a white dog – what dose do I need for a brown dog?
If I am treating an area of 120 sq cm on a 10kg dog, why is that different to a 120sq cm area on a 50kg dog?
What affect does shaving a patient have on the dose rate?
When the “gurus” change the dose rate for a specific condition from 6-8J/sq cm to 10-12J/sqcm and then to 18-20J/sq cm, as scientific evidence indicates, how do I get around the presets?
What do I do if I am treating a small area, but want the deepest tissue penetration I can get?
Standard ubiquitous preset useer interfaces will not allow the accuracy needed for each patient to get the best results. The only “presets” that should be on your laser, should be those saved by the operator for a specific condition in a specific patient after all the variables have been adjusted for. (e.g. “Spot” Taylor’s ACL)
The first of these therapy lasers will be arriving in November 2025 and I am confident they will revolutionise the delivery of laser treatments.
The other big development is the sourcing of good quality, effective and affordable Class 3 lasers for clients to buy to enable them to treat their pets at home. They can get their primary treatment at the vets, and then can look to “top up” at home to assist with prevention. Whilst these are simpler “weaker” lasers, they still work quite well. Class 3 lasers, by definition, have lower power output than the Class 4 lasers. However as 1 Joule (Energy) = 1 Watt (power) x 1 Second (Time), lower power can easily be compensated for by applying longer time inetrvals to the treatment regime. Where vets are time poor and need Class 4 lasers to deliver treatemnts in a timely manner, owners can spend time doing treatments (e.g. 20 mins with their pet on their lap while they watch TV).
An historical perspective circa 2017.
Crane Medical Veterinary Laser Therapy – MY OWN BRIEF HISTORY WITH LASERS
I am an “older” vet with just over 34 years experience in mixed practice in a small rural town in NSW, and with a passion for promoting veterinary laser therapy. I started predominantly in dairy and beef cattle practice, but have gradually moved into a mainly small animal practice these days as the demographics have changed. Our practice now has 2 vets and 3+ nurses an we still see just about everything, and are still striving to improve our abilities any way we can as we follow Tom Hungerford’s “Goanna Track”.
As chief “Goanna” in our practice, I traveled to Washington DC in May 2012 to attend a veterinary conference. Whilst at that conference I was amazed to find the common usage of therapeutic lasers in veterinary practice. Apparently they have been used for over 10 years now in all facets of practice including small animal, equine and exotics. My only previous exposure to lasers was back in 2007 at the WSAVA conference in Sydney where an exhibitor had a very expensive CO2 surgical laser on show. I was completely ignorant of the therapeutic use of Class IV diode lasers.
So I gleaned as much information as I could over there from the 7 or so manufacturers and distributors, speakers and colleagues in practice who were regularly using them. Since returning I investigated lasers online, enrolled in the AIMLA (American Institute of Medical Laser Applications) course, attended a conference online, and have spent a lot of time investigating what constitutes a good laser machine. I have been aided in my endeavours by colleagues in the USA who have a wealth of experience both with laser units and their application.
Finally I was lucky enough to track down the manufacturer of pretty much the most versatile and powerful Class IV laser on the market. Gigaa Laser have been a pleasure to deal with, and even modified the GBOX 15A/B specifically for my requirements to create the GBOX 15AB. This unit is unique in offering a very high 15W output, switchable (810nm& 980nm dual wavelength), with both therapeutic and surgical capability. In June 2013 I visited the Wuhan Gigaa Optronics Technology Co., Ltd headquarters and factory in China. There I met the team, inspected the manufacturing plant and process, including quality control, and once satisfied I collected my own Gigaa Laser GBOX 15AB.
I have now used it in my own practice very successfully on some very difficult intractable cases, and am very excited about the potential of this device in my practice. I should note here that my staff and clients were somewhat dubious about the whole idea, but the results have spoken for themselves and they are all now completely sold on it. Subsequently, I have signed a distributor agreement with Wuhan Gigaa Optronics Technology Co., Ltd to be able to distribute their lasers units within Australia and New Zealand. This also involved negotiating extended warranty options and pricing structures not previously available anywhere else in the world.
Whilst surgical lasers have a great place in veterinary surgery and dentistry, they are often used to do jobs we already do. They just do them better in many cases. A little like digital radiology compared to the old film technology. Therapeutic laser on the other hand brings a whole new treatment modality to veterinary practice, and consequently a new income stream. The only negative impact it may have on the income stream of a practice would be reduced sales of pharmaceuticals. Given the rise of online pharmacies and the likely impact that will have on veterinary incomes, I feel it is timely to aim to be less reliant on “drug sales”.
It is firmly my intention to only sell these veterinary laser units to registered veterinarians, and thus ensure the benefits of therapeutic laser therapy for animals remains with our profession. Therapeutic laser is virtually unknown to Australian vets with only a handful of practices with them, and even they are probably still not getting the best out of their units. To this end I would strongly encourage any vet considering entering the field of laser therapy or surgery to complete the AIMLA laser accreditation courses. Once done, you will be able to make informed decisions about which laser to acquire, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Crane BVSc MANZCVS GradDip (AppSc – Wildlife Health & Population Management)
Crane Medical Pty Ltd & Bellingen Veterinary Hospital