April 17, 2024—A beacon of innovation destined to permanently redefine the landscape of pulsed light technology has finally arrived.
Meet BBL® HEROic™.
HEROic is the first device in aesthetics with Autodynamic Pulsing™, a fully automated pulse delivery system, transforming light-based treatments with unmatched precision and efficiency.
“HEROic is so much more enjoyable to use. We’re getting better results, and patients are more comfortable. We blew away the IPL market with BBL HERO, and Sciton has just done it again with BBL HEROic.” Dr. Sherrif Ibrahim, MD, Ph.D.
“BBL HEROic’s technology is ground-breaking, revolutionary, and once-in-a-generation.” Dr. Chris Robb, MD, Ph.D. FAAD.
Engineered with groundbreaking Intelligent Control™ (IC™) software and the proprietary Skin Positioning System™ (SPS™), BBL HEROic, the next generation in Sciton’s BroadBand Light® (BBL®) technology, empowers providers of all skill levels to effortlessly deliver highly effective treatments.
HEROic eliminates technique issues, such as striping and pulse stacking, significantly reduces the overall treatment time, enhances patient comfort, and enables providers to deliver exceptional, reproducible outcomes for patients with a wide range of skin conditions.
Keep reading to discover what sets HEROic apart as the most advanced pulsed light technology today, and explore how it can benefit your practice.
Why HEROic? Tracing the journey of BroadBand Light technology
Photo caption: Sciton’s JOULE® and mJOULE™ platforms are configurable with BBL HEROic.
1990: The beginning of pulsed light technology
Pulsed light technology was first approved for medical use by the FDA in 1992 for treating leg telangiectasia.1
Since then, it has evolved into an effective treatment for addressing photoaging, hair reduction, and pigmented and vascular skin conditions, including melasma, hyperpigmentation, telangiectasias, port-wine stains, rosacea, and poikiloderma of Civatte.1
Today, pulsed light treatments are one of the most frequently performed and most popular energy-based aesthetic procedures.
2004: Leading the way with BroadBand Light Technology
Since 2004, Sciton has been at the forefront of pulsed light treatments with the development of proprietary BroadBand Light (BBL) photorejuvenation technology.
BBL expanded the treatment capabilities beyond pigmentation and vascular issues to include acne management, permanent hair reduction, skin firming, and improving the appearance of aging skin.
2020: The introduction of BBL® HERO™ (High Energy Rapid Output)
Staying true to its commitment to ongoing product evolution and enhancement, Sciton set a new benchmark with the launch of BBL HERO (High Energy Rapid Output) in 2020.
HERO brought about a significant upgrade in performance, incorporating enhanced cooling, unprecedented peak power, and speed. Its efficacy was unmatched–up to 9X faster than existing IPL devices based on fluence, spot sizes, and repetition rates. It soon became the fastest and most versatile pulsed light technology available.
2024: The launch of BBL HEROic (High Energy Rapid Output with Intelligent Control)
Today, BBL HEROic emerges as the world’s first smart pulsed light device, signaling a new pinnacle in optimal treatment performance.
Utilizing next-generation functionalities, HEROic ensures accurate and consistent treatment experiences, boosting patient satisfaction and driving practice growth.
Video caption: Andy Balk, PhD, Sciton’s lead engineer, describes BBL’s latest innovations with HEROic.
What’s new with HEROic: Discover the latest innovations
“After two years of using BBL HEROic, a couple of thousand treatments, and thousands of hours of working with the technology, I can say it’s quite simply the best pulsed-light technology ever invented.” Dr. Patrick Bitter, Jr., MD, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist, founder of Advanced Aesthetic Dermatology in Los Gatos, CA, and creator of the FotoFacial™.
BBL HEROic is complemented by several new advancements, leading to advanced treatment customization and superior clinical outcomes, including improved skin clarity, skin laxity, and wrinkle and pore reduction.
HEROic stands out from other pulsed light devices with its unique tunable capability, which adjusts energy delivery in half-joule (0.5j/cm2) parameter increments. This allows providers to customize treatments with unparalleled accuracy based on a patient’s skin pathology.
Handpiece with carbon fiber boom
BBL HEROic‘s handpiece incorporates a built-in motion-tracking sensor, also known as the SPS, and LEDs, which communicate treatment status to ensure optimal speed and efficiency. The handpiece’s initialization with the source ensures seamless coordination and calibration for precise treatments.
Skin Positioning System™ (SPS™)
The integrated motion-tracking sensor, or SPS, provides real-time, 3D spatial information about the handpiece’s position and orientation. It adeptly tracks the provider’s speed while moving slowly or accelerating, enhancing treatment accuracy.
Intelligent Control™ (IC™)
IC is the “brain” of the device, processing spatial data to achieve automated pulse placement. It adjusts to variations in handpiece movement, speed, rotation, and patient curvature without any effort from the provider.
Autodynamic Pulsing™
HEROic’s Autodynamic Pulsing promotes precision accuracy, facilitating consistent, uniform, and reliable treatments on flat and curved surfaces.
Dr. Ibrahim, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Rochester Dermatologic Surgery in Rochester, New York, says, “I will only use HEROic. It’s responsive to my every move. HEROic ensures uniform treatment, even treating around body curvatures.”
Six Degrees of Freedom
HEROic utilizes advanced technology within the SPS to accurately analyze, measure, and compute the handpiece’s orientation and movement across six axes. These include the X-axis for forward and backward motion, the Y-axis for left and right, and the Z-axis for up and down.
In addition, the system can detect rotational movements, such as Roll (tilting side-to-side on the X-axis), Pitch (tilting side-to-side on the Y-axis), and Yaw (left and right rotation on the Z-axis). This functionality replicates the different angles and movement of the handpiece during treatment.
Intuitive Software
HEROic’s easy-to-understand interface with condition-driven safe start settings streamlines the treatment process—significantly reducing the time and effort required to deliver treatments, allowing providers to focus on the patient, and ensuring reliable results.
Quick Change Smart Filters™
BBL HEROic addresses a multitude of skin conditions with a single handpiece. Easily swap any of the nine wavelength filters to address patients’ diverse skin concerns.
With the addition of the new 532+ BBL narrowband filter, delicate thready vessels around the nose and challenging low-contrast, recalcitrant pigmented lesions, such as seborrheic keratoses, can be treated for optimal results.
Finesse Spot Adapters™
Quickly and easily change spot sizes with finesse adapters to provide a customized treatment for every patient. The 3 mm conical adapter combined with the 532+ BBL narrow-band filter targets small vascular indications without affecting adjoining areas.
Sapphire Crystal Cooling & Single Degree Adjustability
BBL HEROic’s sapphire crystal maintains the desired sapphire chill plate temperature throughout treatment within one degree of variability—even at maximum output. This enhances patient comfort and enables constant in-motion treatments with consistent results.
What providers love about HEROic
Photo caption: BBL HEROic before and after results
HEROic offers several key benefits that enhance treatment quality, patient care, and practice management:
Delegate with confidence: Never worry about delegating treatments again. BBL HEROic enables clinicians of all experience levels to deliver consistent, quality outcomes for every patient.
Taylor Siemens, NP-C, vice president of operations at Vitalyc Medspa in Dallas, TX, and founder of My Aesthetic Training, says, “As a multi-clinic owner, HEROic has won me over because now I have confidence in my team to provide excellent treatments every time.”
“HEROic is so much easier … I can delegate it to staff without being concerned about striping, gaps, or double pulsing. It’s been a game-changer in our practice, says” Kaitlyn Jones, board-certified PA-C in Nashville, TN.
Streamline training for all skill levels: HEROic flattens the learning curve for providers and their staff. The device’s Autodynamic Pulsing eliminates common user technique errors, such as double pulsing and alignment gaps, by matching the provider’s speed, whether treating flat or curved areas.
“I’ve been very comfortable training my staff to use HEROic. I don’t worry anymore about that two-year lag to get them trained. With HEROic, it only takes six weeks,” says Dr. Robb, a board-certified dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon, and co-founder of the Skin and Allergy Center in Tennessee.
Perform quick full-body treatments: With HEROic, large treatment areas like the back, arms, and legs can be addressed in minutes.
Siemens remarks, “When patients come in for the face and neck, we’re adding arms, chest, and back so much more regularly because HEROic is so quick.”
Optimize scheduling for increased revenue: Increased patient throughput, resulting from consistent, predictable, and quick treatment times, drives substantial overhead savings and revenue growth to your practice.
Erin Hennessey, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, owner of Blush Aesthetics in Toledo, OH, shares her medspa’s experience with HEROic, stating, “Somebody can come in on their lunch hour, get their makeup off, get treated, put their makeup right back on and go out into the world. We can turn that room over and do four treatments in one room during a lunch hour.”
Stack synergistic modalities: HEROic is stackable with other ScitonStaX™ treatments, such as MOXI™ and HALO®. HEROic addresses skin conditions, such as dark spots and pigmented lesions, while MOXI targets pigment and improves the skin’s overall tone and texture. Together, they’re a powerful treatment for addressing the appearance of aging skin in all skin types.
When BBL HEROic and MOXI are used together, the results far exceed either one alone. When treating patients with this StaX combination, Dr. Ibrahim starts with BBL HEROic to cover the face and immediately transitions to MOXI.
Retain patients and foster loyalty: Patients often wonder, ‘Is BBL HEROic the right treatment for me?’ By offering shorter treatment times and more comfortable sessions with minimal downtime, HEROic attracts patients, boosts satisfaction, and cultivates loyalty in the practice.
“[With HEROic], you get treatments done in a fraction of the time. It’s more comfortable for the patient. It’s more fun for the provider, and you are ultimately more successful any way you measure it,” says Dr. Ibrahim.
Video caption: Hear from top Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on why HEROic is the treatment of choice for their patients and practice.
What conditions can be treated with BBL HEROic?
“HEROic is our treatment of choice for everything from acne to poikiloderma, scars, and sun damage,” says Dr. Bitter.
BBL HEROic‘s treatment modalities address a multitude of skin concerns, from the appearance of aging skin to hair removal, acne, and more.
Signs of aging: BBL HEROic delivers light therapy to address the appearance of aging skin, including benign pigmented lesions, dyschromia, age/sunspots, freckles, and sun damage.
Dr. Jason Pozner, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon and co-founder and medical director of Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center in Florida, describes the comprehensive care he provides to patients with the addition of HEROic in his practice: “What I tell all my facelift patients is that no matter what I do, I may be restructuring your house, but I’m not affecting the bricks outside your house. You need technology to do a pressure washer to clean you off first. That’s where HEROic comes into play.”
Photo caption: BBL HEROic before and after photos
Small vessels: Patients with small facial vessels and rosacea find BBL HEROic an effective treatment for diffusing redness, reducing small vascular lesions, and smoothing the skin.
Dr. Ibrahim says, “I use the HEROic 532+ BBL filter for both vascular and pigment, such as small vessels or redness, but there is nothing like it for the small seborrheic keratoses lesions.”
Active acne: The Forever Clear mode of BBL HEROic effectively addresses active acne breakouts in patients as young as teens—without the side effects of pharmaceuticals. Forever Clear BBL® uses blue light to target acne bacteria and yellow light to reduce active inflammatory acne. The treatment helps prevent new breakouts and minimizes the appearance of scars, providing a comprehensive solution for clear and healthy skin.
Visible results are achieved after just one session, without downtime for the patient. The number of treatments required varies based on the severity of the acne and scarring, typically ranging from four to six sessions, followed by maintenance visits.
Unwanted hair: With advanced motion technology and large spot sizes, Forever BARE BBL®, powered by BBL HEROic, delivers a swift and comfortable hair reduction treatment for most skin types. The treatment permanently reduces 80-90% of hair in the treated area within 3-6 treatments—depending on hair thickness, skin tone, and treatment area. Any hair that does grow back is typically finer and less visible. Once or twice-yearly maintenance treatments help eliminate hair regrowth in the treated areas.
Dr. Elizabeth Hagberg, MD, owner and founder of the Skin Rejuvenation Clinic in Edina, MN, says, “Forever BARE BBL … is a very comfortable procedure that is performed quickly. An easy-to-use interface makes it safe and effective. In addition, the motion-based technique ensures a smooth result without any missed areas. Forever BARE is a great way to introduce new and younger patients to your practice.”
The appearance of loose or sagging skin:
SkinTyte™, a unique feature of the BBL HEROic system, is a continuous pulsing mode of infrared light that deeply heats dermal collagen to initiate the body’s natural healing process. This modality remarkably improves the appearance of skin laxity on the face, neck, and body to a degree previously unseen with Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). SkinTyte can treat all skin types, including skin types V and VI.
“From the moment we got SkinTyte, it has been a predominant source of revenue and quickly paid for itself … The treatment feels like a hot stone massage and is safe for all skin types,” says Dr. Robb.
Embrace a new era of life-changing technology
At Sciton, excellence and innovation are at the heart of everything we do. These principles fuel our drive to continuously evolve and enhance our products—aligning with our mission of improving people’s lives with exceptional laser and light-based technology. Our dedication to redefining the landscape of laser and light-based treatments remains steadfast.
HEROic’s versatile treatment options, user-friendly design innovations, and groundbreaking automated intelligence facilitate fast, comfortable, precise, and customizable treatments with significantly superior outcomes—establishing a new benchmark in patient care and satisfaction.
Interested in learning more? Reach out to a local Sciton representative today.
References