IPL Petition for Declaratory Statement Update

On March 26, 2025, the Florida Board of Optometry issued a Final Order approving the Petitioner’s use of Lumenis Stellar M22, also known as Optilight, to provide intense pulse light (IPL) therapy for the treatment of dry eye disease caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction.

The Board determined that, under the specific facts provided in the Petition, (1) the use of Optilight is not deemed surgery; and (2) that it is within the Petitioner’s scope of practice to use Optilight to provide intense pulse light treatment to patients with dry eyes caused by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction.

The Final Order specifically applies to the Petitioner but can be used as guidance by other Florida certified optometrists. Any certified optometrist who intends to use Optilight in his or her practice may do so exactly as described in the Petition. This requires Optilight to only be used for the treatment of dry eye disease due to Meibomian Gland Dysfunction in patients 22 years of age or older as specifically indicated by the FDA. Optilight was specifically indicated for use by the FDA as follows:

Universal IPL with a spectrum of 400-1200nm (with different filters) is indicated for: Improvement of signs of Dry Eye Disease (DED) due to Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), also known as evaporative dry eye or lipid deficiency dry eye in patients 22 years of age and older with moderate to severe signs and symptoms of DED due to MGD and with Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. IPL is to be applied only to skin on the malar region of the face, from tragus to tragus including the nose (eyes should be fully covered by protective eyewear). IPL is intended to be applied as an adjunct to other modalities, such as meibomian gland expression, artificial tear lubricants and warm compresses.

The Final Order did not approve the use of any IPL device other than Optilight.