Cutera excel HR

The Cutera excel HR is a hair removal laser that combines a 755 nm alexandrite laser with a long-pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser. Cutera introduced the platform in June 2014. The alexandrite wavelength is covered by Cutera's Family of CoolGlide Aesthetic Lasers clearance, K132185, decided by the FDA on December 6, 2013, which lists 755 nm for hair reduction on Fitzpatrick skin types I to VI along with benign pigmented lesions, wrinkles and vascular lesions. Cutera also lists its Laser Genesis procedure among the system's uses.

The excel HR uses one handpiece with motorized spot adjustment, so changing spot size does not mean swapping fiber assemblies. According to Cutera's 2016 annual report, it covers 3 to 18 mm in Nd:YAG mode and 5 to 18 mm in alexandrite mode. The handpiece has a sapphire window ringed by a cooling plate with temperature monitoring, and the operator can set the contact cooling between 4 and 20 degrees Celsius, applied before, during and after the pulse.

Despite the shared name, the excel HR is not a variant of the excel V. The excel V and excel V+ pair 1064 nm with a 532 nm green laser for vascular and pigment work, while the excel HR pairs 1064 nm with a 755 nm alexandrite source and is built around hair removal. A quick check is the wavelength selector on the treatment screen: an option for 755 nm means an excel HR, and an option for 532 nm means one of the excel V systems.

Because the whole system runs through a single handpiece, its condition carries more weight than on a multi-handpiece platform. Buyers will ask whether the motorized spot mechanism moves through its full range, whether the sapphire window is free of chips or burn marks, and whether both wavelengths calibrate and fire. Include service records, the software version, and photos of the serial label and the main treatment screen.