Origin

The first and broadest application of laser blood treatment took place in the former Soviet Union.

The State Scientific Center of Laser Medicine in Moscow and other great clinics in Russia and the Ukraine are to be emphasized in this context.

Why did these methods not become known before?

For several decades, the Soviet Union was an isolated system that was closed to the outside world. Publications were only written in Russian language; publications in English were an exception. The corresponding conferences concerning this topic and also the training on these methods were virtually held only in Russia. Western European scientists have ignored or rejected this research for a long period. The Soviet Union promoted the research intensively. Safety and dosage issues have been tested extensively. A special emphasize was put on a highly-qualified vocational training of physicians and care personnel.

Various device types were built for a deployment in hospitals; yet, such devices are not available or certified in Western Europe or other western countries. The first experiments and subsequent treatments were performed with the helium neon laser at 632 nm in the red light range. This laser was used in almost all common studies. Meshalkin and Sergievsky first introduced this treatment method in 1981. The works were initially performed in the cardiology section.