The wikipedia entry for "cold laser" gets redirected to here:
"Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a medical and veterinary treatment that uses low-level lasers or light-emitting diodes to alter cellular function."
I'm hearing of more and more people that are receiving "laser" therapy for soft tissue injuries, pain, even artheritis and hip pain.
I wouldn't have thought that some red or near infra-red light (coherent or otherwise) would have anything other than a placebo effect, but it seems that there might be something more to this.
Clinical and even home light sources cost in the thousands.
I'm thinking of buying the components myself (I'll check Digikey first). Basically anything I can find in the 600 to 1000 nm wavelength. Super-bright LED's, or diode lasers, or anything else that looks interesting.
I'm not sure what optics I might need.
Has anyone looked into this, along the lines of a do-it-yourself or home-made light therapy or laser therapy unit?
There's a LOT of background info here:
It has a section on laser vs led as a light source.