Dalphene Index

enlighten — FDA clearance record and published evidence

Cutera, Inc. · Lasers & Light · Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo)

510(k) · cleared510(k)A submission in which a company shows the FDA that its device works much like a device already legally on sale, so the company does not have to prove the whole thing over from scratch.Class IIClass IIThe FDA's middle-risk group, which is where most aesthetic lasers, energy devices and fillers sit, and which normally reaches the market through the 510(k) route.K182997K-numberThe reference the FDA stamps on a 510(k) submission, written like K123456, which is how you pull up the exact record for a device.
Pathway510(k) · cleared
ClassII
First cleared2016
Years on market10
Studies323
Trials27

A 510(k) device is cleared, not approved — a different route, not a lesser one.

Compare with similar Discovery Pico PicoCare PicoPlus Compare all 4 →

Shares treatment areas — not a recommendation.

Overview

ModalityModalityA family of treatments that work the same way — such as radiofrequency microneedling, or lasers that leave the skin surface intact — rather than any one branded machine.
Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo)
Manufacturer
Cutera, Inc.
Category
Lasers & Light
Latest decision
FDA records
4
MappingCrosswalkThe mapping this site keeps between records that no single source links up, such as tying a brand name to the FDA codes and the study searches that describe the same thing.
Verified

Mapping is the weakest link on this page; the rule is published.

Regulatory

Identifiers on file, copied from the openFDA response. Each links to its FDA public record.
IdentifierTypeRoleFDA record
K182997510(k) — clearedPrimaryOpen →
K172077510(k) — clearedOpen →
K170936510(k) — clearedOpen →
K160488510(k) — clearedOpen →
FDA product codes on the matched records.
CodeFDA device name21 CFR
GEXPowered Laser Surgical Instrument878.4810

Cleared indication: not transcribed here — read it on K182997 →

EUDAMEDEUDAMEDThe European Union's public database where devices and their makers are listed, so an entry there records that a device exists in the European system and is not any kind of approval or clearance.Also registered in the EU
Listed as
enlighten SR
Manufacturer
Cutera, Inc.
Basic UDI-DIBasic UDI-DIThe European reference for a whole family of devices that share the same purpose and design, so several sizes or models sit under one of these.
00816722021600DC
UDI-DIUDI-DIThe European reference for one specific model, size or configuration of a device.
00816722021625
Risk classRisk classEurope's own risk grouping for devices, which runs from I to III and does not line up one-to-one with the FDA's classes.
Class IIb
Status in EUDAMED
On the market

Registered in EUDAMED, the EU device database. A registration, not an approval.

Evidence

Counted for the modality, never the brand.

323PubMed, all time
306PubMed, 10y
27Studies
0Recruiting
Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo) — PubMed records per year, 2016–2026 (2026 partial)
Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo)
20169
201717
201826
201927
202042
202151
202235
202338
202438
202551
202631
51papers · 2025 · modality, not brand+34%

PubMed counts publications; ClinicalTrials.gov counts registrations. Neither is a quality score.

What that literature is made of

By publication type · all years

All records on this querythe set every row below is drawn from323
Systematic review / meta-analysis3.4% of the total11
Randomised controlled trial13.0% of the total42
Clinical trial (any type)16.7% of the total54
Review9.6% of the total31
Case report18.9% of the total61
Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo) — PubMed records by publication type, all years
PubMed records
All records on this query323
Systematic review / meta-analysis11
Randomised controlled trial42
Clinical trial (any type)54
Review31
Case report61

Each row is one publication typePublication typeThe label the literature index attaches to a paper to say what kind of work it is, which is assigned by the index rather than by this site., and the rows overlap: PubMed explodes Clinical trial, so it already contains the randomised trials, and the systematic-review subset intersects Review. They do not sum to the total. Bar length is the count against this modality's own query total; rows are in the order the source file defines them, not by size.

What each modality's PubMed total is made of, by publication type. Counting study types is not a quality assessment.

PubMed query, verbatim

("picosecond laser"[tiab] OR "picosecond-domain"[tiab] OR "pico laser"[tiab]) AND (skin[tiab] OR cutaneous[tiab] OR tattoo*[tiab] OR pigment*[tiab] OR melasma[tiab] OR lentig*[tiab] OR rejuvenation[tiab])

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ClinicalTrials.gov query, verbatim

intervention: ("picosecond laser") condition: (tattoo OR melasma OR pigmentation OR lentigines OR acne scars OR skin)

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Treatment areas

What matched, and where
AreaMatched termSource string
ScarsscarClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo)
Pigment & melasmamelasmaClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo)
TattootattooClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Picosecond laser (pigment & tattoo)

Derived by keyword rule, not the cleared or approved indication.

Sources

No adverse-event data is published anywhere on this site.