Does a Newer Cartridge Fit an Older Device? What Six Brands’ Documents Record

If you hold a newer cartridge and an older handpiece, ask the supplier which document states that the two fit; the manuals and FDA clearances opened for six brands on September 20, 2026 each record a narrower statement, quoted below. Each statement is narrow enough to be useful once you know what it is. A catalog number page settles what an identifier means; this page settles whose statement stands behind a claim of compatibility, and what a supplier should produce before an order goes out. The brands run one at a time below, from a registry search where Thermage tip descriptions carry surface area and repetition count, to a clearance filed as LUDWIG Electrosurgical System and cited by records under the VIVACE ULTRA name.

What manuals and clearances for six brands put in writing about fit

Across six brands, the nine primary documents opened on September 20, 2026, three manufacturer manuals and six FDA clearances, each put a narrower statement on the page where a buyer expects an answer about fit, and the table quotes it.

The fourth column is what matters at order time. A manual describing how a tip seats has given you an assembly step; a clearance comparing a submission with a predicate has given you two products the submission puts side by side. Check whether a compatibility claim has a document behind it before you check the compatibility, and if the answer is a catalog number, see the catalog number cross-reference.

Thermage tip records carry surface area and repetition count

A Thermage search in the device registry returned 65 records on September 20, 2026, and while console and handpiece records name CPT, NXT or FLX outright along with models TG-2B, TG-3A, TH-2 and TH-3, the treatment tip descriptions read like "TREATMENT TIP, NON-STERILE, 3.00CM2 DC, FRAME, 900", surface area and repetition count. The description field is where a buyer looks, so read it in the GUDID registry search for Thermage and ask the supplier which system the tip on the quote is listed for. The catalog numbers do separate the two lines, and separating is not naming. Checked on September 18, 2026, the filings differ like this.

• CPT and NXT tips carry a catalog number equal to the model version, a TTNS scheme with surface area, variant and repetition count, such as TTNS3.00C1-600.
• FLX tips sit in their own device identifier series under the 00816995 prefix, with a catalog scheme of TT plus surface area plus F6 plus repetition count, such as TT4.00F6-900.
• That FLX record sits under the broader GMDN term for a radio-frequency skin and body contouring system, code 45219, where the CPT record uses the narrower applicator tip term.

The documents opened for Thermage hold the same shape. The CPT technical user manual gives its tip chapter to inserting a tip into the handpiece, stating "The geometry of the Treatment Tip only allows for insertion in one orientation.", and titles that chapter "6.7 Thermage CPT Treatment Tips". FDA clearance K170758, granted to Solta Medical on September 22, 2017, cites the CPT system as predicate under K090580 and K132431 and splits the device into console, handpiece and tip, and rests on "the technology and the performance of the existing Thermage CPT System". The Solta Medical instructions page lists "Thermage FLX™ System Model Number: TG-3A User Manual" as a separate entry from the CPT model TG-2B, all read on September 20, 2026, so ask the supplier for the FLX manual by document number and revision. Treat two catalog series as an ordering convenience, not as an answer, and keep the document question open before a number goes from the Thermage tip listings onto an order.

Two Ultherapy manuals print the same six transducers

The Ultherapy PRIME instructions dated April 2026 and the 1015107IFU Rev 05 instructions from April 2024 print the same Table 3.4, "Transducer Types", with the same six transducer types, DS 7-3.0 through DS 10-1.5N, both read on September 20, 2026. That is a fact about the contents of two documents, so ask the supplier which document assigns a transducer to your system generation.

Ultherapy runs the opposite way from Thermage. FDA clearance K243035, issued to Ulthera on February 24, 2025 against predicate K233996 and read on September 20, 2026, lists "Same main components, including a console with integrated touchscreen, connected handpiece, and interchangeable transducers", the word "interchangeable" there describing the transducers of a single system. The registry is thinner still, since the UT-1 Rev N and UT-2 Rev O records both trace back to clearance K134032 from 2014 and in both, the catalog number and case package fields are empty, checked September 18, 2026. When a quote names a transducer, the model designation from Table 3.4 and the device identifier are what you can match against a record, and a part number appearing only on a seller page is not. Then see Ultherapy transducers.

SkinPen's clearance compares lock-out across two cartridge generations

FDA clearance K241400, issued to Bellus Medical LLC dba Crown Aesthetics on August 29, 2024 against predicate K220506 and read on September 20, 2026, compares the cartridges of the two generations on how single use is held to, listing "NFC Chip" for the newer submission against "Manual lock out" for the predicate, and states "There are no changes to the general technology, mechanism of action, or indications for use." The registry files the two generations under separate records, checked September 18, 2026, with REF014 under F5SP021 and identifier 00863221000309, REF015 under F5SP388 and identifier 00850060751028, and no overlap between their package identifiers. The difference described concerns how single use is enforced, so ask the supplier which of the two lock-out types the cartridge on the quote carries, and to confirm in writing that the cartridge fits your device model. Ask as well for the SkinPen Precision Elite instructions for use by document number and revision. See also cartridge cost across microneedling pens.

One Morpheus8 tip record lists five clearance numbers

One Morpheus8 tip record lists five clearance numbers at once, K192695, K200947, K201150, K210492 and K221571, so ask the seller whose product each of those decisions concerns.

Two tip records of one brand can sit under entirely different decision sets, as AG607563A and AG613051A do, while two others share one decision under K192695, and none of that ordering describes hardware. The single record here whose description names an applicator is the Morpheus8 90 tip, and the decision behind it, FDA clearance K240017 issued to InMode Ltd on June 13, 2024 and read on September 20, 2026, names the applicator by model in the indications for use, "The InMode System with the Morpheus8 90 Applicator is intended for use in dermatological procedures". That describes the wording of a field and a decision, so when a seller quotes a clearance number, open it to see whose product it concerns. For running cost across RF devices, see five RF microneedling devices compared on running cost; for pens, see SkinPen vs Rejuvapen, MicroPen and SkinStylus.

The clearance behind a record can carry a different name

The VIVACE ULTRA cartridge records opened for this page point back to clearance K221574, a decision issued on October 16, 2022 under the trade name LUDWIG Electrosurgical System, so a buyer reaching for the source document arrives at a file named differently from the record that sent them. FDA decision K221574, read on September 20, 2026, lists Potenza K192545 and Genius K180945 as predicates and calls the consumable a "Disposable bipolar micro-needle cartridge (electrode) that is inserted into RF Handpiece".

Checked on September 18, 2026, the brand holds at least ten cartridge records, ABMVIVM01 and ABMVIVM03 through ABMVIVM11, plus system records ABMVIVS01 and ABMVIVS02. The cartridge records are classified as intradermal radio-frequency ablation needle electrodes, which is not how the older SH-TIP record is classified. The two SH-TIP records from shenb Co., Ltd., device identifiers 08800017100234 and 08800017100920, are the clearer warning, since they share a trade name and a model designation and agree on little else.

• The older lists case packs of 15 and 20 plus a unit-of-use identifier, the newer case packs of 5 and 10, so the commercial unit is not stable, checked September 18, 2026.
• The older carries GMDN term 58454 with product code OUH, the newer term 58455 with code GEI, checked September 20, 2026.
• The newer one leaves the catalog number field empty though it was published August 7, 2026, checked September 20, 2026.

Sylfirm X repeats the pattern. FDA clearance K213612, issued to VIOL Co., Ltd on May 2, 2022 with an earlier SYLFIRM X under K200185 as predicate and read on September 20, 2026, marks tips J25BM, J25BS and J18BS as Provided for the submitted device and Not provided for the predicate, a record of what ships in the box. In the three Sylfirm X tip records the catalog number and case package fields are empty and the description reads "No description.", checked September 18, 2026. Two generations under one trade name can differ in packs, classification and contents, so match the identifier from the offer to a record before anyone matches a part to a device. See also Scarlet SRF cartridges.

Parts sellers state cartridge-to-system fit on product pages

Parts sellers put cartridge-to-system fit in writing, and the Thermage tip pages at medhandpieces.com assign every tip a "Compatible system" field, so ask that seller which manufacturer document the field comes from. Read on September 20, 2026, that seller states "Thermage tips must be matched to the correct system generation.", and calls the tips original Solta Medical parts.

The second seller card is more specific. On the same day, the laser-tech.com product page listed a single Morpheus8 tip at 95.00 USD, described it as new and sterilized, assigned the tip catalog number AG607563A to the handpiece rather than the tip, declared no affiliation with the equipment maker, and showed the item as unavailable. That is one seller's offer on one date, not a brand price. A page presented in search results as a published matrix, the cartridge comparison page at us.drpen.co, sorts cartridges by needle count and carries the disclaimer "Please note, this is a general guide only.", read on September 20, 2026. When a compatibility claim shows up on a product page, ask which document it came from before the conversation reaches price.

What to ask a supplier before a cartridge order

Ask which document a compatibility claim comes from, because the Thermage seller page opened on September 20, 2026 assigns a "Compatible system" to each tip and the Morpheus8 seller card read the same day declares no affiliation with the equipment maker, while the registry entry behind an offer settles the identifier rather than the fit. Searching by identifier is a quick first move, and that day three identifiers gave three pictures of one market. The SkinPen cartridge number returned registry mirrors only, and once those are left out no sellers remain. The Vivace Ultra catalog numbers returned the registry record and four mirrors, and once those and one entry from the store operated by this site's publisher are left out, no commercial offer remains. The Morpheus8 catalog numbers returned nine results, of which seven commercial listings stand after that store and one mirror are left out.

• Which catalog number and device identifier sit on the record, given that the newer Vivace SH-TIP record leaves the catalog field empty and the Catalog Number field of the Sylfirm X tip records is blank.
• Which package size the record states rather than the offer, given that the SH-TIP records run 15 and 20 against 5 and 10.
• Which clearance number the part sits under and whose product that decision concerns, given that K221574 carries the trade name LUDWIG Electrosurgical System while the cartridge records sit under VIVACE ULTRA.
• Whether the description field names a system, given that the Thermage tip descriptions in a 65-record registry search on September 20, 2026 read like "TREATMENT TIP, NON-STERILE, 3.00CM2 DC, FRAME, 900".
• Which manufacturer document the claim rests on, given that one seller assigns a "Compatible system" field to every Thermage tip.
• In what condition the part ships, given that one seller card calls a single tip new and sterilized.
• The unit price beside the pack price, given that the 95.00 USD that card showed on September 20, 2026, with the item marked unavailable, was for one tip, while the SkinPen records, checked September 18, 2026, carry package identifiers for boxes of twelve and twenty-four.

Write down the identifier as the record spells it and the number and edition of the document a claim rests on, with the date you checked both, then compare offers against that note instead of the wording on a product page. That note is what makes it worth the time to request a quote, because the parts can then be named rather than described.

FAQ

Can you reuse a tip, cartridge or transducer?

The Thermage FLX, Morpheus8, Vivace Ultra and Sylfirm X tip and cartridge records checked in the device registry on September 18, 2026 carry a single-use flag, the UT-1 and UT-2 Ultherapy transducer records describe a reusable device instead, and the two SkinPen generations hold that line by different means. On the Vivace Ultra cartridge record ABMVIVM10 that flag arrives with sterile packaging and a device count of 1. On SkinPen, K241400 sets an "NFC Chip" on the newer cartridge beside the predicate's "Manual lock out".

What separates the Thermage CPT and FLX records?

Filing separates them, and the sharpest marker is a record carrying no premarket decision number at all. The FLX Eye tip under device identifier 00816995021353, catalog TT0.25F6-450, published December 14, 2017 and registered as single use, non-sterile and Rx, leaves that field empty, while the FLX Total record beside it names Solta Medical as submitter and was last revised June 30, 2025, both checked September 18, 2026. The CPT manual meanwhile lists its tips in Table 1.1 as a TTNS series in surface areas of 0.25, 3.0 and 16.0 square centimeters, checked September 20, 2026.

How do you check a cartridge against your device before ordering?

Take the number the maker filed in the registry before the number a seller prints in a listing, because the two are not always the same entry, and one Morpheus8 number offered for sale did not appear among the 17 Morpheus8 records in a registry search on September 18, 2026. A search on a SkinPen cartridge number on September 20, 2026 produced two registry mirror pages and nothing past them, so the identifier was confirmed and no commercial listing stood beside it. The Morpheus8 catalog numbers behave differently the same day, six of the surviving listings coming from sellers on the US market and one from a seller based elsewhere. Neither outcome tells you what fits, which is why the document question comes ahead of the price question.