A Novel Hand-Held Low-Level Light Therapy Device for the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris: A Single-Arm Prospective Clinical Study

A prospective clinical study involving 57 patients with mild-to-moderate acne found that a novel hand-held low-level light therapy device was safe and effective in treating acne. The device, which uses a 680 nm red laser diode and a 450 nm blue light-emitting diode, was self-administered by patients at home daily for 4 weeks. Results showed a significant decrease in the mean number of inflammatory acne lesions at weeks 4 and 8, with reductions of 64.7% and 59.3% in the per-protocol and intention-to-treat groups respectively. No severe adverse reactions were reported. The study also found a significant reduction in the viability of Cutibacterium acnes, a causative agent of acne vulgaris, following low-level light therapy exposure in vitro. However, the study noted that further large-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings.