Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for maintaining a therapeutically significant level of energy at a treatment area that can include rapid charging of a storage element and triggering of a flashlamp by discharging the storage element and repeating the charging and triggering a predetermined number of times during a treatment period to raise and maintain a temperature at the treatment area to a predetermined therapeutic level.

Abstract: A light emitting device for providing therapy to a user includes a light source configured to generate optical energy having a wavelength in a range of from about 400 nm to about 1100 nm. The device further includes a user interface configured to be placed into contact with a treatment area on a user's body and configured to transmit the optical energy from the light source to the treatment area generally along a beam propagation axis. The user interface includes an electrical impedance sensor configured to determine when the user interface is contacting the treatment area. The device also includes a controller, configured to receive at least one sensor signal from the electrical impedance sensor, wherein the controller is configured to prevent activation of the light source based upon the at least one sensor signal.