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March 2004

Rehab Management recently spoke with Larry K. Beardall, executive vice president of Dynatronics Corporation, Salt Lake City, a manufacturer of chronic pain and aesthetic products, as well as rehabilitation products including those for electrotherapy, iontophoresis, and aids to daily living. He discussed the field of light therapy; the company’s new line of equipment for this market, Solaris; as well as current and future trends he expects to see in the industry.

Q: Can you describe the major trends you see currently happening in the rehabilitation industry?

A: With the advent of managed care, slower clinic expansion, and declining reimbursement over the past decade, most manufacturers trimmed research and development budgets and fo-cused, for the most part, on putting existing technologies in newer packages. In the past year however, we have begun seeing a number of very exciting new products enter the market. This, of course, benefits everyone.

Q: What new products or technologies has Dynatronics introduced recently?

A: This past September Dynatronics introduced Solaris, a new line of equipment featuring light therapy. While somewhat new to the United States market, various versions of light therapy have been used in many countries for nearly 30 years. Backed by an estimated 2,000 studies, light therapy is one of the best researched technologies ever to be introduced to the physical medicine market. As a result of extensive research, there is ample evidence of the efficacy of light therapy and how it should be applied to achieve optimal results.

Q: While Solaris may be new, I understand light therapy is not new to Dynatronics?

A: That is correct. In fact, Dynatronics began pioneering light therapy 25 years ago when it introduced its first cold laser in 1979. Dynatronics has worked to further the research and advance the technology. As a result, much has changed over the years. For example, the output power of our first laser was 1 mW compared to Solaris’ output of 500 mW. Dynatronics is thrilled to once again be a technological leader in making this exciting new modality available to practitioners.

Q: How have clinicians responded to light therapy?

A: It’s a pleasant surprise when sales exceed projections and this has certainly been the case with Solaris. It is exciting to be selling something new, but the most significant aspect of the Solaris Light Therapy is its efficacy. Since it had been used around the world for so many years and was backed by so much research, we knew the therapy was effective but we had no idea just how effective. Infrared light therapy is easy to administer and treatment times are very short. There have been two pleasant surprises with Solaris—sales and effectiveness—and you can bet the two are related.

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