LaserOptek Presents Innovative Medical Devices Created by Professional Laser Engineers
LaserOptek Presents Innovative Medical Devices Created by Professional Laser Engineers
  • 허창훈 분당서울대병원 피부과 교수 (desk@k-health.com)
  • 승인 2020.06.09 10:16
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Key technologies of Laseroptek: laser resonators, short-pulse laser, harmonic generation, regenerative amplifier, and power supply
An export-focused company that strives to broaden oversea markets
[Prof. Huh’s Talk on Dermatologic Medical Devices] LaserOptek ① Company Exploration

So-called “Homo Hundred” era, the skin beauty market gained momentum as the social atmosphere has turned to pursue a healthy, vibrant life. Particularly, dermatologic medical devices have made remarkable progress by expanding into various areas including diagnosis and treatment. Health Kyung Hyang would like to start to explore the evolved dermatologic medical devices through a column titled “Prof. Huh’s Talk on Dermatologic Medical Devices.” Prof. Chang-Hun Huh is a professor at the dermatologic department of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, and he visited related sites to get a better quality of data, wishing for further development of the Korean dermatologic medical device industry. Readers can see the present and future of the medical skin device industry through more vivid and meaningful information achieved from on-site. <Editor's note>

Prof. Chang-Hun Huh, M.D., Ph.D.Department of DermatologySeoul National University Bundang Hospital
Prof. Chang-hun Huh, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Dermatology at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital

Last May 16 was the 60th anniversary of the world’s first laser invention by the genius scientist named “Theodore Maiman” in California. Lasers look like a deadly murder weapon in science fiction movies, but they are essential equipment in real life like a barcode scanner and a CD player. In the medical field, especially in the dermatologic field, we can’t address medical devices without mentioning lasers.

█ LaserOptek = Hong Chu, a founder and chairman, had been a professor teaching about laser optics in KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology). With a start-up foster policy for professors by the government, he founded the company in 2000 to make the best laser system with Korean technologies.

The company name "LaserOptek" stands for "laser optics technology." They developed a laser system with their technology shortly after the company’s establishment. In the beginning, they also developed industrial lasers in parallel, but now they pay more attention to the research, development, and manufacturing of medical lasers.

At the background of the advanced technology, there was a firm research team led by Sang Hyuk Kim, Ph.D. (Chief of R&D center) and Aleksandr Tarasov, Ph.D. (Principal Research Scientist) who were former researchers at KIST. With great efforts of these two men, LaserOptek can get numerous patents and be able to design their own core parts including a laser resonator. In 2019, they also won “the Korea Technology Award” by “the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy” for the first time in the beauty laser field with “An ultra-fast switching laser-based treatment system with variable wavelength.”

Since 2018, Mr. Chang Jin Lee, MBA, has been joined as a president to support marketing, which was relatively weak compared to its high technology and good reputation and to make it stand as a global laser company. With his help, LaserOptek could achieve more certifications of the oversea market and over 30% increment in annual sales.

█ Product Line = There are four major product lines and they produce all core parts by themselves: Q-switched Nd:YAG product line of nanoseconds or picoseconds for pigment diseases (Helios, PicoLo), Solid-state UV laser line for vitiligo or psoriasis(Pallas), Er:YAG laser line for peeling or tissue removal (Lotus), and long-pulsed laser line for hair removal, vascular lesion, et al. (Hyperion, Zelos).

Their key technologies are ▲Design of laser resonators (gas, liquid, solid) ▲Short-pulse laser design (Q-switch, mode-locking, pulse compression) ▲Harmonic generation design ▲Regenerative amplifier design ▲Power supply design. With these technologies, the company could secure developing new lasers, maintaining high stability, and improving beam quality.

█ Challenges = Exports account for more than 70% in LaserOptek. Currently. The main export countries were Asian countries including Taiwan and Southeast Asia, but exports to the United States, Europe (Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc.), and the Middle East have begun since last year.

The most difficult challenges in exploring overseas markets are ▲lack of local information ▲time and cost to get and maintain certifications of each country ▲excessive competition within Korean companies in Southeast Asia ▲establishment of brand values in North America and Europe ▲service problems in remote areas, etc.

Besides, medical devices, especially beauty medical devices, have a short trend cycle and that a new device should timely come out in the market, but it is not easy due to the long period for certification in Korea. Because a large-scale clinical trial is not available before getting approval for sales, there is a slight lack of time for market development, too. It will be a great help to an export-oriented company like LaserOptek if the government pays more attention and deregulate macroscopically in the future.

█ Future Plans = Although it is one of the top three laser companies in Korea in terms of sales, currently, they set goals to develop 2~3 innovative products annually with their own leading technology and to become one of the Big 5 global laser companies within next five years.

Recently, they succeeded in getting 10 billion KRW investment. With this, they will enforce research capabilities to develop and release on the market with various product lines. They also have a plan to strengthen marketing and branding as well as continuous R&D investment. If the plan is successfully carried out, it is likely that products of LaserOptek, a Korean laser company, will replace the foreign laser devices in Korea.



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