Comparing the MedcoVet Luma and the Photizo VetCare

Welcome to our latest blog post where we dive into the world of at-home red light therapy for pets, focusing on two popular products: the Photizo VetCare and our MedcoVet Luma. As pet owners increasingly look for effective and non-invasive treatments to enhance their pets’ health and well-being, red light therapy has emerged as a promising option.

Here’s our scoring for the Photizo:

Device Specs – Grade: B…
1. Although we haven’t verified the specs, the Photizo has the right wavelengths, and a reasonable amount of power. One thing to note is that the website doesn’t say how much light is red vs. Infrared.
2. The Photizo does not have an optical comb, which means that about 80% of the light will be lost due to the fur. This is the main reason home units are not good enough. Clinical units have enough power to reach the target (because they have so much power), but most home devices don’t have enough power, factoring in fur and are best for superficial conditions.
Device Quality – Grade B…
1. The device looks well made and at a glance should deliver what is promised. The challenge is that either the device gets really hot (there is no heatsink to eliminate heat) or it is not expected to be on for very long, which means not enough of a dose to have a clinical impact.
Clinical Information – C-…
1. The device is only expected to be on for 30 seconds per spot, which is not enough dosage to have a clinical impact (unless you treat many spots). This is very confusing to pet owners.
2. The videos also show the Photizo being held at a distance from the patient, which means even less light will reach the target. These instructions show lack of clinical understanding.
Beyond the device – F…
1. There is only generic information on how to treat different conditions. A clinician should establish the protocol after reviewing the patient’s records. Generic information leads to hit or miss results.
2. By far the main reason pets don’t heal is because pet owners are not compliant. The Photizo does not offer an app that reminds the pet owner to treat and also connection to the clinic to ensure good outcomes. 70% of MedcoVet users engage with the app and track treatments, provide status updates to clinic, send messages, etc. Without compliance and engagement most devices are not used after the first few days.

Analysis:

The Photizo has decent device parameters. It has about 1W of average power and has both red and infrared wavelengths (red is more for superficial wound healing and IR is for deeper conditions like arthritis). The website looks good and has videos, etc. Overall, this appears to be a quality product.

Key Device Differences Between the Luma and the Photizo:

Luma has an optical comb – This is so important that we patented our comb. About 80% of light (or more) is lost in the fur. The optical comb bypasses the fur to reach the skin and the target tissue. Usually, only large class IV devices can emit enough light to get through the fur and reach the target tissue.
Treatment area – The Photizo’s treatment area is ⅓ the size of the Luma’s treatment area. This presents two challenges. 1- The pet owner must move the device to many different spots while treating, and 2- Small treatment spots require accurate placement. We chose a larger treatment head because the pet owner doesn’t know the exact locations to treat.
Device overheating – Any light device that is emitting over 1W of light creates heat. Many devices on the market don’t have a way to dissipate heat, which means they are either not on for very long (treatment times less than 1 min, which don’t do much) or they burn out. The Photizo claims that treatment only needs to be 30 seconds (per location). This seems pretty ridiculous, as the World Association of Laser Therapy says otherwise. The body needs time to absorb the light and will not absorb double the power in half the time (this phenomenon is called reciprocity).

Beyond the device:

The first part of the document compares the MedcoVet Luma with another light healing device. But MedcoVet offers much more than a quality device. The price of the Luma includes:

30% payment to the clinic for supporting the medicine. The device on the internet doesn’t factor in the time and knowledge of a trained clinician who knows the pet.
An app to connect the pet owner and clinic. This enables protocol changes between visits so the pet is getting the optimal dosage based on their progress. 70% of pet owners engage with the app to get connected to the clinic, leading to better outcomes.
MedcoVet support for any issues regarding the Luma. MedcoVet offers best in class support for all customer inquiries including billing, technical and medical issues.

Here is a link to the Photizo VetCare:

https://www.miridiatech.com/all-products/other-products/photizo/photizo-vetcare.html

Here is a link to the other device specs:

https://www.danetrehealthproducts.com/shop/p/photizo-vetcare

Key Device Specs Reviewed:

Power output 1300mW (Peak Power 330mW/cm^2 Average output: 194mW/cm2)

Coverage 4.7cm2

Wavelengths 633nM (red) and 850nM (infrared) – each dose includes both wavelengths simultaneously

Dose details 6 joules (31 second dose) – 30% includes a range of pulsed healing frequencies (50/50 duty cycle), 70% continuous light

Note: All Infrared is concentrated in the middle, not throughout the treatment area

Specification Comparison:

Parameter	MedcoVet	Photizo	Notes
Infra Red	660mW	?	Photoizo has IR but not clear how much
Red Light	440mW	?	Photoizo has red but not clear how much
Other Light	0mW	0mW	Photizo doesn’t use other color gimmicks (this is good)
Total Light	1100mW	990mW	Note Average power used, not peak power (because average power is used for dosage)
Treatment area	14.5cm^2	4.7cm^2	The Photizo has a small treatment area and all the IR in the middle of the device. Treatment area requires many spots or moving the device
Power density	75mW/cm^2	194mW/cm^2	Per World Association of Laser Therapy (WALT) For healing, 50-100 mw/cm^2, for analgesic >300mW/cm^2.
Comb	Yes	No	Very important as about 80% of light is lost in the fur
Treatment times	1 min 30 seconds per spot	30 seconds	From the video…”30 second treatment is enough”, “You can’t overtreat (not true).
Heat Sink	Yes	No	All devices that emit 1 Watt of power also generate heat. Without a heat sink, either you treat for very short times or treat longer and the device will burn out.

MedcoVet is the bridge between

expensive, quality, in-clinic treatments (which don’t work because pet owners can’t come in), and
inexpensive devices on the internet (which either don’t meet veterinary guidelines or don’t have the medical support to achieve positive medical outcomes).