A new acoustic system, however, could reportedly allow for complete tattoo removal in as little as two to three closely-spaced sessions.

Conventional systems utilize a laser beam to break up clusters of tattoo ink particles located beneath the skin. The individual particles that are broken off of these agglomerations are gradually carried away by the body's white blood cells.

Multiple treatments are required, as each pass of the laser removes only a top layer of particles from each agglomeration. It's impossible to remove any more than that in one session, as the particles that are released from the top of each cluster end up shielding the rest of the agglomeration from the laser beam.

Additionally, the laser is blocked by tiny steam-filled vacuoles (sacs) which form over the agglomerations as a result of the treatment. A subsequent pass can't be performed until these have been reabsorbed, and the released ink particles have been carried away.