Asclepion VascuStar DYE

The VascuStar DYE is a pulsed dye laser from Asclepion Laser Technologies in Jena, Germany, built around a 595 nm dye laser source. It pairs that laser with what Asclepion calls RightLight technology. In the RightLight handpieces, a pulsed flash lamp's light passes through the same dye solution as the laser, giving a broad output from 550 to 1,200 nm that peaks at 595 nm, over a much larger treatment window. The brochure is marked as not intended for the US market, and no VascuStar 510(k) appears among Asclepion's FDA records.

The system comes with four laser handpieces with fixed spots of 5, 7, 10 and 12 mm, all in stainless steel with focusing optics. There are two RightLight handpieces. The small one has a 15 by 13 mm window, about 2 square centimeters. The large one has a 48 by 13 mm window, about 6.2 square centimeters, with an optional insert that halves it to 24 by 13 mm. Handpieces are recognized and calibrated automatically. Laser pulses run from 0.3 to 40 ms. RightLight pulses run from 2 to 20 ms, or longer in double and triple pulse sequences. Repetition rates are 0.2 to 1 Hz.

The cabinet weighs 175 kg and measures 120 by 49 by 100 cm, with a 10.4 inch touch screen and a built in database of preset parameters by indication. Asclepion lists vascular indications such as port wine stains and vascular malformations, along with superficial pigment, psoriasis, warts and scars. Note which RightLight handpieces are present, since a system missing them is configured differently.

The dye is a wear item. Asclepion rates each dye kit for 400,000 pulses from installation, so a buyer will want the pulse count since the last dye kit change and the date it was fitted. Report the condition of the cooling system and any error messages, and photograph the serial label, the counter screen and each handpiece.