Radio Your Way To A Younger Face And Body

The gold standard treatment for the many aesthetic aspects of aging has for many years been surgery in its many forms. However, with increasing patient demand for cosmetic rejuvenation and with the strong desire and drive by patients to attain aesthetic enhancement with minimal risk and rapid recovery, there has been a strong surge inspiring the field of nonsurgical skin rejuvenation. Traditionally, most of the nonsurgical methods have centered around those that destroy the epidermis and cause a dermal wound, with resultant dermal collagen remodeling and secondary skin tightening and rhytid improvement. Currently, there is growing interest in a wide range of nonablative interventions that, predictably, are claimed to rejuvenate skin and subcutaneous tissue "safely and effectively." Several nonablative systems have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and been CE marked in Europe for the purpose of skin rejuvenation and lipocontouring.

Today I would love to review a particular nonablative radiofrequency device currently in use for skin rejuvenation, which utilizes Mono, Tri and Hexa polar mode of delivery to rejuvenate skin, zap fat and improve cellulite. The device is called Mabel Pro it has been CE Marked in Europe and currently awaiting FDA approval in the US.

First question that most people want to know is what is radiofrequency and how does it work?

Radio waves are basically high frequency waves on the electromagnetic spectrum (300 KHz-300GHz), which we use for TV, Radio, & Phone transmissions in our daily lives. When applied to skin or sub cutaneous tissue these high frequency waves generate a RF field by rotation of water molecules, which translates into friction and heat generation. Heat energy is absorbed in the dermis to generate collagen and elastin through fibroblast activation. Heat transmitted into hyo-dermis results in fat membrane disruption and heating up of the collagen bundles, thus reducing fat cells circumference and improving cellulite.

Radiofrequency can be used in Monopolar, Bipolar or Uni/Multi polar modes. Using Monopolar mode of application a single electrode is applied to the treated area and the opposing electrode is applied relatively far removed; in the form of a back plate, so that when the current is applied to the skin it heats up point of application and then goes deeply through the body disperses and gets removed from the second plate. The treated area is heated rather deeply (usually up to 20 mm) & we can achieve skin rejuvenation as well as fat contouring. If too much energy is delivered it can lead to serious side effects like burns and scars.

Building upon the success of monoploar mode of delivery and trying to avoid the side effects Bipolar mode was put into practice. Bipolar mode lets the energy pass between two electrodes approximated few cm apart, hence heating the superficial tissue (dermis) only. This mode is used mainly for skin tightening and collagen production.

Unipolar mode is further improvising of Monopolar mode to avoid side effects associated with it, yet retaining the efficacy. This mode sends smaller amounts of energy into the body through a single probe, as the amount of energy deposited into the skin is very small it does not need to be removed by a second remote electrode. This energy produces the desired effect near the application probe and then disperses into the body without causing any harm. More heat is absorbed at the point of application and that is where main action takes place dermis and hypodermis.

Multi-Polar (tri, hexa) mode uses multiple Unipolar heads to apply energy to the treated areas. This combination is synergistic and allows to reduce the required intensity of energy through each probe and application of multiple probes covers bigger surface area and speeds up the treatment time, thus minimizing side effects and possibly increasing effectiveness.

Mabel pro uses Mono, Tri and Hexa polar heads. Which means through its sophisticated control algorithms for optimizing the concurrent application of the two types of Radio Frequency it can transmit multiple energies at lower frequencies synonymously to reduce the side effects and increase the efficacy of treatment compared to the other RF devoices in the market.

Mabel pro is typically used to treat skin laxity and sagging, usually of the face and neck but also elsewhere on the body. It also has good potential to treat cellulite and perform body sculpting.