Cutera CoolGlide

CoolGlide is the long-pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser line that launched the company now known as Cutera. Cutera's 2004 IPO prospectus says the business was incorporated in 1998 as Acme Medical, renamed Altus Medical in July 1999 and renamed Cutera in January 2004, and that its first CoolGlide product went on sale in March 2000 for hair removal. FDA's earliest record is K991798, the Acme Medical Aesthetic Nd:YAG Laser, cleared in March 2000. Clearances for CoolGlide I, CoolGlide II and future models followed through 2003.

The prospectus product table dates CoolGlide Excel to 2001, for hair removal and vein treatment, and CoolGlide Vantage to 2002, which added skin rejuvenation. The first model was the CoolGlide CV. According to Cutera's annual report for 2010, the CV handpiece had a fixed 10 mm spot, while the Excel and Vantage handpieces let the operator choose 3, 5, 7 or 10 mm. Skin cooling comes from a temperature-controlled copper plate that touches the skin before and after each pulse, which the prospectus calls ClearView.

The CoolGlide name covers more than these early consoles. Cutera's 510(k)s K132185 (2013) and K153671 (2016) describe a Family of CoolGlide Aesthetic Lasers with single wavelength 755 nm alexandrite, 1064 nm or 532 nm Nd:YAG, pulsed light and combination models, built around a console, a permanently attached laser handpiece and detachable pulsed light handpieces. The Xeo, introduced in 2003, is a separate multi-application platform, and the 2010 annual report mentions trade-in credit for CoolGlide owners moving to a Xeo or Solera. Cutera's 2020 annual report lists CoolGlide among its legacy products.

To identify your unit, read the model name on the rear label, CV, Excel or Vantage, and record the spot sizes the handpiece offers. On a console of this age a buyer will look closely at the delivery fiber, the copper cooling plate, the water cooling system, any shot or hours counter, and when the system was last serviced. Include service paperwork.