Dalphene Index

Frax — FDA clearance record and published evidence

Candela Corporation · Lasers & Light · Non-ablative fractional laser

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.K212492K-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
Studies1,157
Trials128

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

Compare with similar Clear + Brilliant Fraxel LaseMD 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.
Non-ablative fractional laser
Manufacturer
Candela Corporation
Category
Lasers & Light
Latest decision
FDA records
3
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
K212492510(k) — clearedPrimaryOpen →
K192951510(k) — clearedOpen →
K161162510(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 K212492 →

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
Frax Pro
Manufacturer
Candela Corporation
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.
B-00817495023465
UDI-DIUDI-DIThe European reference for one specific model, size or configuration of a device.
00817495023465
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.

1,157PubMed, all time
742PubMed, 10y
128Studies
10Recruiting
Non-ablative fractional laser — PubMed records per year, 2016–2026 (2026 partial)
Non-ablative fractional laser
201690
201773
201882
201978
202090
202183
202293
202366
202482
2025111
202654
111papers · 2025 · modality, not brand+35%

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 from1,158
Systematic review / meta-analysis4.0% of the total46
Randomised controlled trial16.2% of the total188
Clinical trial (any type)22.9% of the total265
Review16.3% of the total189
Case report9.8% of the total114
Non-ablative fractional laser — PubMed records by publication type, all years
PubMed records
All records on this query1,158
Systematic review / meta-analysis46
Randomised controlled trial188
Clinical trial (any type)265
Review189
Case report114

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

("nonablative fractional"[tiab] OR "non-ablative fractional"[tiab] OR "fractional photothermolysis"[tiab] OR "fractional laser"[tiab]) AND (skin[tiab] OR cutaneous[tiab] OR wrinkle*[tiab] OR rhytid*[tiab] OR scar*[tiab] OR photoaging[tiab] OR rejuvenation[tiab])

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ClinicalTrials.gov query, verbatim

intervention: ("nonablative fractional laser" OR "fractional photothermolysis" OR "fractional laser") condition: (skin OR wrinkles OR scars OR photoaging OR rejuvenation OR melasma)

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Treatment areas

What matched, and where
AreaMatched termSource string
Wrinkles & lineswrinkleClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Non-ablative fractional laser
Photoaging & rejuvenationphotoagingClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Non-ablative fractional laser
ScarsscarClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Non-ablative fractional laser
Pigment & melasmamelasmaClinicalTrials.gov condition query for Non-ablative fractional laser

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

Sources

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