New technologies being developed at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Boston, that .
During a virtual course on laser and aesthetic skin therapy, Lilit Garibyan, MD, PhD, discussed findings from a swine study published online in January 2020 that used an injectable physiologic ice slurry for the nonsurgical removal of fat, a technology that could give CoolSculpting a run for its money. “It does lead to more efficient and effective cryolipolysis,” said Dr. Garibyan, the lead study author who is an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard University, and director of The Magic Wand Initiative at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. “The treatment of fat tissue with ice slurry injection can be done in less than 1 minute, as opposed to an hour of cooling with CoolSculpting. In addition, because cooling is delivered directly into target tissue, it is more effective.”
For the study, she and her colleagues at the Wellman Center injected the slurry – a mix of ice, saline, and glycol – into the flanks of swine and followed them for up to 8 weeks. They used ultrasound imaging to show the location of the fat loss and to quantify it. The researchers observed about 40%-50% loss of fat in the treated area, compared with a 60% fat gain in swine who served as controls. “This is because the pig is growing and gaining weight, so the fat is increasing,” she explained.
Gross histologic images also showed fat loss in the subcutaneous fat tissue of treated swine, but not in controls. “When we quantified this loss, there was about a 60% loss of fat after a single injection of ice slurry in the subcutaneous fat,” Dr. Garibyan said during the meeting, which was sponsored by Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Wellman Center for Photomedicine. “On histology there was loss of fat in the subcutaneous area and it was replaced by new collagen. No damage to surrounding skin or muscle tissue was seen.”
She characterized the approach as “a minimally invasive and novel method of adipose tissue removal. It’s very simple, because it’s just a simple injection, and it’s very efficient and effective in fat removal. Most importantly, it can target any anatomic site accessible with a needle.”
Human studies are currently underway.
Another emerging technology Dr. Garibyan discussed is a novel controlled skin cooling device for the treatment of benign pigmented lesions. The approach, known as Cryomodulation, was invented by R. Rox Anderson, MD, Dieter Manstein, MD, PhD, and Henry HL Chan, MD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and is being commercialized by R2 Technologies. It delivers precise controlled and titratable freezing of benign pigmented lesions without damage to the epidermal barrier. It has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, and R2 Technologies plans to launch its first commercial product in the United States in December 2020.
The handpiece of the device, which is placed on top of the skin, provides localized and controlled freezing to targeted benign pigmented lesions. “The cold, or the freeze, is delivered to where the melanocytes reside,” Dr. Garibyan said. “The ice nucleation essentially pauses melanin production. As cell turnover occurs, cells that are melanin-free migrate upward and renew freshly healthy skin. So, melanocyte function is still preserved but there is no destruction to the epidermal barrier. This technology is totally color blind, and there is no persistent inflammatory response.”
After this treatment, histology reveals a reduction of epidermal melanin without destruction of melanocytes. The treatment impairs melanocyte transfer, but not the melanocytes. “Clinically, that is seen as lightening of the skin,” she said. More than 550 patients have been treated with Cryomodulation to demonstrate its safety and effectiveness, described in a study published in 2019, and an ASLMS e-poster.
The final technology Dr. Garibyan discussed is a novel device for removing dermal pigment with a highly focused laser beam. “The problem with current lasers is that the maximum absorption of energy happens at the dermal/epidermal junction,” she said. “This not only increases the risk of epidermal injury, especially in skin of color, but it also leaves very little energy to reach the pigmented target tissue or cells. In addition, there is scattering in the skin, which also reduces the amount of fluence or energy that can reach the target depth, therefore reducing the efficacy of treatment with currently available laser.”
The investigative focused laser beam with high-speed scanning creates a large differential between the fluence at the surface and the fluence at the target, which improves safety. “It’s able to deliver enhanced energy to the target,” she said. “Therefore it’s more effective than destroying the target pigmented cells. There is no injury outside of the focal point, so it offers improved safety, efficacy, and spatial selectivity. The end result on histology is a selective destruction of the pigmented cells, which are typically melanophages.”
Dr. Garibyan predicted that this device will be an ideal therapy for postinflammatory hyperpigmentation and for melasma, “as no effective therapies are available for those conditions.”
She disclosed that she has received royalties/inventorship assigned to MGH. She holds equity in, is a consultant to, and is a member of the scientific advisory board of Brixton Biosciences. She is a consultant to Vyome Therapeutics, Blossom Innovations, Aegle Therapeutics, and ClearifiRx.