April 7, 2010, Updated September 13, 2012

It already has FDA approval for facial tightening and studies indicate that an Israeli company’s new cosmetic treatment device is safer, less painful, and more effective long-term.

 

EndyMed1000

The Endymed Pro console. Company founders claim it offers less pain and improved safety over traditional procedures.

When people want a youthful complexion these days, they often turn to Radio Frequency (RF), a relatively new cosmetic procedure that can tighten the skin, treat cellulite, remove scars and stretch marks and even treat acne.

While it’s no doubt a safer option than surgery, the less invasive RF treatment can still be painful and lead to burns, putting off many prospective clients. Now an Israeli company, Endymed, hopes to change all that with a new device that it claims can make RF-Based cosmetic procedures safer, more effective and less painful.

RF treatment works by generating a wave of electrons that cause frictional heating of tissue. Unlike laser surgery, which only affects the top layers of the skin, RF energy (in use for years in cardiological and neurological procedures) is able to penetrate deeper to reach the interior dermis and subcutaneous layers, achieving tightening and improvements to the underlying tissue structure, as well as contracting and renewing the collagen.

The problem is, however, that not all RF is created equal, Uzi Blumensohn, CEO of Endymed tells ISRAEL21c. There are two main techniques in use today, the first – monopolar heat delivery – aims a single electrode deep into the skin, often causing overheating and pain; the second – biopolar heat delivery – uses two electrodes but due to safety considerations can only penetrate the top layers of skin, requiring longer treatment periods.

“The two main [RF] techniques of delivering heat to the underlying skin leave much to be desired,” says Blumensohn. Both first and second generations of these RF technologies “either penetrate deeper into the tissue, which is painful and might result in surface or subsurface burns, or deliver heat very superficially, limiting their beneficial effect,” he claims.

Multiple energy sources for controlled delivery

That’s where the Endymed innovation comes in. Endymed’s 3Deep technology uses multiple energy sources that interact to provide controlled delivery of energy to the various skin levels. By playing off the different RF energy levels to create a thermal pattern that’s strong enough to make the desired changes, the patient isn’t hurt, says Blumensohn, who claims that Endymed is the only solution in use today that employs selective, phase-controlled heat delivery.

Using an array of electrodes and a sophisticated algorithm to manipulate the energy phases, the Endymed Pro Console can penetrate far deeper than bipolar devices – as deep as nine millimeters into the skin – while adeptly controlling the level and precision of the heat, claims Blumensohn.

“The multiple electrical fields created repel each other, leading to the ideal combination of energy directed to a deeper skin layer,” he says. “The repelling forces between adjacent electromagnetic fields drive energy vertically into the target tissue, reducing the amount of energy flowing through skin surface and alleviating the need for cooling.”

In addition to its effectiveness, Blumensohn claims the Endymed device is the safest RF system on the market. While other systems rely on a technician’s judgment to halt the flow of energy, the Endymed system constantly checks the amount of heat it generates, and shuts itself off if things get too hot – or if the device loses contact with the skin.

Safety at the core

Safety, in fact, is one of the main reasons the Endymed device was created by company founders Yoram Harth, Endymed’s chief medical officer, and Daniel Lischinsky, head of R&D at the company. Both Harth and Lischinsky have years of experience in the aesthetic medicine market, and both came to realize that patients were having a hard time.

“There’s a great deal of potential in the market, but we realized that many patients were staying away because of the pain involved,” says Blumensohn. The Endymed device was designed specifically to help those patients – and others – he says.

The console comes with hand pieces for use specifically on the face, neck, arms and knees, “each specifically engineered to ensure maximum comfort, safety and effectiveness, Blumensohn says. In addition, studies carried out for the FDA indicate that the device is not only safer, but it’s more effective long term; somehow, the heat combination that the Endymed device produces “keeps” longer, so patients can go longer periods between return treatments than they can with other RF systems.

The console received FDA approval for use in facial tightening a few months ago, after receiving European CE approval for all its functions. Currently, the system is being used throughout Europe and the Far East for face tightening and body contouring (reducing cellulite levels). In the US, it is distributed by Eclipsemed, probably the biggest distributor of high-tech aesthetic devices in the States. Blumensohn tells ISRAEL21c that the company expects soon to receive additional FDA approvals for use of the device in body contouring.

Currently funded by investments from Israel’s Medica 3 Venture Fund (Opal Ventures), Blumensohn believe the Caesarea-based company will be able to begin turning a profit within the next couple of years and will continue to grow.

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