AI and skin analysis in laser devices: what automatic settings can do
More and more laser devices set their parameters themselves with AI support. This page explains how automatic parameter selection works, what cameras on the handpiece capture, where the limits of automation lie and why responsibility remains with the operator. The second part deals with skin analysis using a multispectral camera: what white light, UV and polarised light reveal and how documentation and before-and-after comparison support the consultation.
Examples are the SIA AI in the DEWEON 4LD, the AlexDUAL UFO and the PICOLO XL, and the Skin Analyzer Pro from SIACSKIN as a stand-alone device for skin analysis.
How does a laser device with automatic settings arrive at its values for energy, pulse duration and wavelength?
The device links recorded or entered characteristics with stored treatment data and derives from them a set of parameters, which it suggests or sets directly. For every combination of skin type, body area and goal there is a range for energy, pulse duration and repetition rate, and with several wavelengths also their selection. The automatic function thus replaces looking things up in tables and converting by hand. How good the suggestion is depends on the input values: a wrongly recorded skin tone leads to wrong values. The automatic function therefore does not replace a careful look at the skin.
At SIACSKIN, the assistance system is called SIA AI: it sets skin type, body area and energy automatically. In the DEWEON 4LD, the AI skin analyser additionally selects the wavelength, in the PICOLO XL the AI sets the parameters automatically, and the AlexDUAL UFO uses cameras on the handpiece.
What is the benefit of camera-based skin detection directly on the handpiece of a laser?
Cameras on the handpiece record the skin where treatment takes place, rather than relying solely on an assessment at the start of the appointment. This matters because skin is not the same everywhere: forearm, underarm and intimate area of the same person can differ markedly in tone, and there may be tanned areas as well. Detection at the handpiece gives the automatic function values from the area in question. The view through the camera has limits: it shows the surface, not the history of the skin.
The SIACSKIN AlexDUAL UFO works with the SIA AI and cameras on the handpiece, and the assistance system sets skin type, body area and energy automatically. The device combines alexandrite at 755 nm and Nd:YAG at 1064 nm for skin types I to VI.
How safe are automatic settings on a laser device really?
Automatic settings can markedly reduce the risk of gross setting errors, but they are not a safeguard against every treatment error. Many incidents arise from energy that is too high for the skin tone, an unsuitable pulse duration or an overlooked tan. An assistance system that derives these variables from recorded values defuses precisely this source of error and keeps new staff within a safe range. What remains unaddressed is what no device sees: medication, recent sun exposure, skin diseases. The initial consultation, a test patch and observing the skin reaction are therefore always part of the process.
With the DEWEON 4LD, the AI skin analyser selects wavelength and energy automatically. The training included free of charge with the purchase of a SIACSKIN device provides the knowledge with which you assess the suggestions of the automatic function.
What can an AI in the laser device not detect, and who bears the responsibility?
An AI only detects what can be recorded on the skin surface, and responsibility for the treatment always remains with the person at the handpiece. Not visible are photosensitising medication, a pregnancy, sun exposure in recent days that is still darkening the skin, a tendency to pigment spots or raised scars, and the question of whether a mole needs to be examined. Whether a hair has enough pigment to respond is also something you assess yourself. The automatic function provides a reasoned starting value, not an approval.
This also applies to the SIA AI in the DEWEON 4LD, in the AlexDUAL UFO and in the PICOLO XL: it sets parameters, while you take the medical history and inform the client. Who is allowed to perform which treatment is regulated differently depending on the country.
When should you adjust the automatic settings of a laser by hand?
You intervene by hand when the skin reaction does not match the suggestion or the history calls for more caution. If the expected reaction does not appear, for example the slight redness around the hair follicles, the energy can be raised step by step. If the skin reacts more strongly than expected, you reduce the energy or lengthen the pulse. Further cases are scars in the treatment area, very fine remaining hairs at the end of a course, and areas that were sensitive at the last session. Record every deviation so that the next session can build on it.
The SIACSKIN VCL DERMALIGHT, an LED system and not a laser, shows both routes in one device: the AI mode SMART and the manual mode EXPERT. On the DEWEON 4LD, the client management system records treatment areas and shot counts.
Is there AI support for tattoo removal and pigment treatment too?
Yes, lasers for tattoo and pigment treatments also work with automatic parameter selection, but assessing the design remains manual work. The suitable setting here depends on more factors than in hair removal: colour and density of the pigments, depth, age of the tattoo, body site and skin type. An assistance system provides a coherent starting value for this. Whether the skin reacts correctly is shown only by the test pulse: an immediate whitish lightening is regarded as a sign that the energy is reaching the pigment.
On the PICOLO XL, the AI sets the parameters automatically, with 532, 755, 1064 and 1320 nm available. The PICOLO L also works with the SIA AI. Which wavelength belongs to which colour is something you check on the design itself.
What is a multispectral skin analysis, and what do white light, UV and polarised light show?
A multispectral skin analysis photographs the face in turn in several types of light, because each makes something different visible. White light shows the skin as it is seen in everyday life: wrinkles, pores, texture. UV light makes superficial pigment and sun damage stand out dark, including damage that is not yet noticeable to the naked eye. Polarised light removes the shine of the surface and reveals redness, vessels and deeper pigment. From comparing the images, a picture emerges that the naked eye does not provide.
The SIACSKIN Skin Analyzer Pro works with a multispectral camera in white light, UV and polarised light. Its AI evaluates pigment, wrinkles, pores, redness, moisture, sebum and elasticity.
How reliable are the values of an AI skin analysis?
The values are reliable as a comparison, and only to a limited extent as an absolute measurement. An image analysis counts and weights what it finds in the images. The result varies with everything that changes the image: make-up, product residue, room light, head position, skin that has just been cleansed or heated. Taken under the same conditions, however, two analyses of the same person reliably show whether pigment, redness or pores have changed. That is exactly what the method is made for. The individual scores are a guide for the consultation, not a laboratory finding.
The Skin Analyzer Pro evaluates seven characteristics from pigment to elasticity and places before and after side by side. Always use it in the same place, under the same room light and with make-up removed.
What is the difference between the skin analysis in the laser and a skin analysis device?
The skin analysis in the laser serves to set the device, whereas a standalone skin analysis device serves consultation and documentation. In the laser, it is about a few quantities at the treatment site, above all how much energy the skin can tolerate there. The result feeds directly into the parameters. An analysis device, by contrast, records the face in several types of light, evaluates the skin condition and stores it for later comparison. It does not treat; it shows what should be treated.
At SIACSKIN, these are two different products: the AI skin analyser in the DEWEON 4LD selects wavelength and energy for hair removal. The Skin Analyzer Pro uses a multispectral camera to evaluate, among other things, pigment, wrinkles, pores and redness, and shows the before-and-after comparison.
Can an AI skin analysis detect skin diseases or skin cancer?
No, a cosmetic skin analysis makes no diagnosis and does not replace a medical examination. It evaluates features of the skin appearance such as pigment, redness or pores, but does not distinguish between a harmless age spot and a change that needs to be investigated. If a spot is noticed during imaging that has an irregular border or several colours, or that is growing, itching or bleeding, it is not treated but first shown to a dermatologist. The same applies to persistent redness with pustules and to scaly areas.
The SIACSKIN Skin Analyzer Pro is a tool for consultation and follow-up monitoring. Its images in white light, UV and polarised light help you to notice anything unusual early and to recommend medical assessment.
How is a skin analysis carried out before the first treatment?
A skin analysis takes about 10 to 15 minutes and begins with thoroughly cleansed skin without make-up. After cleansing, you wait a few minutes until redness and moisture have settled. The client moves their hair away from their face and holds their head still, and then the images are taken in the different types of light. Afterwards you go through the images together on the screen: what stands out, what bothers them personally, what can be improved and with what? The treatment plan is derived from this.
The Skin Analyzer Pro provides images in white light, UV and polarised light together with an AI evaluation. The first image is at the same time the baseline for the later before-and-after comparison.
When should the skin analysis be repeated during a course of treatment?
Three points in time make sense: before the first session, around the middle of the course, and about 4 to 12 weeks after the last treatment. Directly after a session, redness, swelling or flaking distort the picture. The interim image shows whether the skin is responding and allows the plan to be adjusted. The final image is taken only once the remodelling in the skin is visible: pigment lightens within a few weeks, and new collagen needs about 3 months. After that, one appointment a year is enough as a check, and at the same time a good occasion for a top-up.
The Skin Analyzer Pro places the images side by side as a before-and-after comparison. In a course with the TULIX or the EUPHEUS M8, progress thus becomes visible to the client.
Which treatment suits which finding of the skin analysis?
The finding sets the direction: pigment and sun damage lead to light or non-ablative laser, redness to broadband light, and wrinkles, pores and declining elasticity to procedures that build collagen. If the UV image shows many superficial pigment spots, the epidermis is the target. If redness and thread veins stand out in polarised light, light that is absorbed by haemoglobin is needed. If wrinkles and enlarged pores dominate, the problem lies in the dermis. The analysis usually finds several issues, in which case you agree the order with the client.
With the Skin Analyzer Pro as the starting point, at SIACSKIN this means: the TULIX for pigment and skin tone, the DERMAFORCE BBL PRO for pigment and redness in skin types I to IV, the EUPHEUS M8 for tightening, pores and scars.
How does the client management system in the laser device help to document a course of treatment without gaps?
The client management system stores, for each person, the client data, the treated areas and the pulses delivered, so that every session follows on from the previous one. In everyday practice this means that a colleague can also see which area was treated last and does not have to guess. Shot counting has three purposes. It shows whether an area has been covered completely, it makes the outlay per treatment calculable, and it documents the course of treatment in case questions arise later.
Devices with the SIA AI such as the DEWEON 4LD and the AlexDUAL UFO come with a client management system including client data, treatment area documentation and shot counting. In addition, SIACSKIN offers an AI-assisted cloud platform that manages and evaluates before-and-after images, and a client administration system for contact details, documents and appointments.
Is a laser device with AI worthwhile for experienced operators too?
Yes, experienced operators benefit less from the safety than from speed, consistency and documentation. Anyone who performs laser treatments every day knows their parameters but loses time with setting up at every change of treatment area. An automatic function delivers the starting value immediately, and you only correct according to the skin reaction. In a team with several practitioners, it ensures that everyone works from the same starting point and that results do not depend on how the day is going. New colleagues are trained more quickly.
With the SIA AI and cameras on the handpiece, the AlexDUAL UFO sets skin type, body area and energy automatically. The DEWEON 4LD selects wavelength and energy via the AI skin analyser. Whether this suits your business is something you clarify in the free consultation.
