Candela Alex TriVantage

The Candela Alex TriVantage is a Q-switched alexandrite laser designed to put three wavelengths on one cart: 755 nm straight from the alexandrite rod, plus 1064 nm and 532 nm generated inside dedicated handpieces. FDA's summary for K063072, cleared in December 2006 for the 532 and 1064 nm handpiece accessories on Candela's Q-switched alexandrite (AlexLAZR) family, describes how this works. The 755 nm pulse runs down the fiber and pumps a small Nd:YAG rod in the handpiece, which lases at 1064 nm, and in the 532 nm version a KTP crystal then halves that wavelength. In January 2007 Candela told the trade press it would unveil the AlexTriVantage the next month as a tattoo laser that reaches more ink colors than the AlexLAZR.

FDA's GUDID database ties TriVantage consoles to clearance K081324 from June 2008. That summary describes an alexandrite head excited by two xenon flashlamps, a deionized water circulator, a lens-coupled fiber the user can replace, and a calibration port with an internal meter on the control panel. GUDID lists TriVantage handpiece assemblies in 2, 3 and 4 mm, a 1064 handpiece, a 532 handpiece, a 532 PT handpiece, a combined 532/1064 handpiece, and a 755 delivery system upgrade. Laser Focus World reported in 2010 that the system also has a 755 nm long pulse mode for pigmented lesions.

Because the extra wavelengths live in the handpieces, a console sold without its converter handpieces fires 755 nm only and is closer to an AlexLAZR. GUDID shows console models 9914-00-2025, 9914-00-2026 and 9914-00-2027 still in commercial distribution, while 9914-00-2011 and 9914-00-2325 left distribution in June 2024.

A dealer will ask when the flashlamps were last replaced, whether the calibration port reading holds at the fluences used, and whether the water circulator has been serviced. List every handpiece and spot size with its part number, note scratches or haze on handpiece optics and the fiber tip, and photograph the serial label and pulse count screen.