LASER THERAPY:JOURNALAIMSANDSCOPE
Note: Prospective authors should please refer to this “Aims and Scope” document to ensure that
their article falls within the remit of Laser Therapy and also to the “Notes for Contributors” elsewhere in the journal to ensure that their article is written in the style required by the editorial team,otherwise articles may be returned without review.
1: There has been a rapid increase over the last three decades in the use of low level laser therapy (LLLT) and its
acceptance in many branches of medicine and allied disciplines. This has been followed by the new interest in othernon-laser phototherapeutic sources such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which led to the adoption of the term ‘lowlevel light therapy’ for the acronym LLLT. The journal therefore seeks to meet the need for an international forum
for the exchange of ideas and information, dedicated to all aspects of phototherapy and photobiomodulation. Thishas been the original remit of Laser Therapy from its inception in 1988, and it was the first journal to link an international outlook in the field of LLLT and photobiomodulation with high standards of academic content, firmlyunderpinned by the peer review process. Therefore, clinical and basic scientific studies on all aspects of LLLT, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and related research into photobiomodulation will be considered for publication.
2: More recently, Laser Therapy has become the official journal for a number of national and international associations dealing with all aspects of light-based medicine. Currently these include the oldest international societies for
medical lasers, the International Society for Laser Surgery and Medicine (ISLSM) and the Asian-Pacific
Association for Laser Medicine and Surgery (APALMS); the International Phototherapy Association (IPTA); theJapanese Society for Laser Reproduction (JaSLaR); The Japan Association for Laser Medicine and Sports Science(JALMSS); the World Federation of Societies for Laser Medicine and Surgery (WFSLMS); the Japan Society forLaser Surgery and Medicine (JSLSM); Laser Florence (IALSM); the International Laser Dentistry MasterAcademy (ILDMA); and the European Society for Laser Aesthetic Surgery (ESLAS). Because of the addition ofthese associations and the enhanced range of interests of their members, the scope of the journal has been dramatically increased to include all aspects on laser surgery, although those with an aspect involving the simultaneousdelivery of nonsurgical athermal levels of laser energy (simultaneous LLLT), which can have beneficial effects on
the postoperative pain and healing process, will be particularly welcomed. Clinical and basic scientific studies into
the use of all aspects of light-based photosurgery will therefore be considered for publication from all specialities
and subspecialities using light-based medicine, including the dental and veterinary fields.
3: Please note that there has also been increased attention paid to non-laser, energy-based medicine (EBM) indications. While EBM employs devices whose frequencies fall within the electromagnetic spectrum, articles based on
the clinical or investigational use of such devices will, in principle, not be accepted for publication. However, if theauthor(s) can show and successfully argue why the use of such devices is equivalent or superior to the use of lightbased devices for the same indication or research field, including pertinent referenced material, then such EBMrelated articles will be considered for publication in Laser Therapy.
4: The primary aim of this journal will be to publish original clinical and research papers of the highest quality.
Particular attention will be paid to the design of experiments, including detailed reporting of all parameters used,
and meaningful analysis of results.
5: All original papers submitted will be subject to the peer review process by independent experts in the appropriate field.
6: Regular review articles designed to bring the general reader up to date in the use of phototherapy, photobiomodulation and photosurgery with lasers and other light-based sources in various areas, and associated research in thesefields, will remain a feature of the journal. Please note that review papers will only be by invitation of the Editorin-Chief, and will also be subject to the peer review process. Unsolicited review papers will be returned.
7: Anecdotal reports will only be accepted if, in the view of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team, they areappropriately and comprehensively reported as far as parameters and methods are concerned; and if publication
will prove useful to the readership in reporting a previously unknown aspect of LLLT, photobiomodulation or photosurgery; or will act as a stimulus to further research.
8: An occasional Product Review section may give details of new light-based therapeutic equipment on the market
and related publications.
9: Correspondence to the Editor-in-Chief on any aspect of laser therapy is encouraged as a “Letter to the Editor”.
10: The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team reserve the right to make alterations in the text of contributions, without altering the technical context, when considered desirable in order to produce either conformity of style or
because of space limitations.