LED technology
“Lighting the way for quicker, safer healing”
Health and Medicine Magazine
Originating technology/ NASA contribution
“Who’s to say that a little light can’t go a long way? Tiny light-emitting diodes (LED) chips used to grow plants in space are lighting the way for cancer treatment, wound healing, and chronic pain alleviation on Earth.”
History of LED
First NASA developed LED technology for space shuttle plant growth experiments. It was conducting research on light resources for promoting food growth within closed environments where humans would be present for a long duration, such as the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.
When NASA determined that Red LEDs could grow plants in space, Marshall Space Flight Center awarded several Small Business Innovation Research contracts to investigate the effectiveness of the broad-spectrum diodes in medical application.
The contracts, issued from 1995 to 1998, focused on increasing energy in human cells. It was NASA’s hope that LEDs would not only yield medical benefits on Earth, but they would help to stem the loss of bone and muscle mass in astronauts, which occurs during long periods of weightlessness. (In space the lack of gravity keeps human cells from growing naturally.) Furthermore, since wounds are slow to heal in microgravity environment, LED therapy could accelerate healing and keep wounds on Earth from becoming mission-catastrophic in space.
FDA- approved clinical trials continued at several facilities over 3 years, including the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York; Rush-Presbyterian-St.Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago; and the Instituto de Oncologia Pediatrica in Sao Paulo, Brazil. LED became recognized as a U.S. Space Foundation “Space Technology Hall of Fame” award recipient in 2000 and a Marshall Space Flight Center “Hallmark of Success” in 2004.”
What is LED therapy?
LED therapy is a non-invasive procedure that activates skin cells with pulses of low-level, non-thermal light energy. LED therapy converts light energy within the skin cells, like photosynthesis, which takes sunlight and converts it into food energy in plants.
LED photons must be absorbed to produce a biological response. All biological systems have a unique absorption spectrum; this uniqueness determines which wavelength of light will be absorbed to produce a given therapeutic effect. This visible Red and Infrared portions of the spectrum have been shown to be highly absorbent and produce unique restorative effects in living tissues. It is thought that light photons are absorbed by the skin and underlying tissues and triggers biological changes within the body in a process known as photobiomodulation. Although the exact mechanism of action is still undergoing study, what is known is that light increases oxygen and blood flow, facilitating wound healing and increase anti-inflammatory reaction.
Laboratory studies have shown that skin cells grow 150-200% faster when exposed to certain LED light wavelength. Independent research for over 40 years has shown LED Red and Infrared light delivers powerful therapeutic benefits to living tissues. Both Red and Infrared light has been shown to affect at least 24 different positive changes at a deep level. Red light, at wavelengths from 630-660 nm penetrates tissue to a depth of 8-10 mm. Skin layers, because of their high blood and water content, absorbs Red light very rapidly and deliver enough energy to stimulate a response from the body to heal itself.
Premature aging has a negative impact on careers, social life and your self-image. Considerable research has been done to understand the aging process and studies now show that products containing or producing bioactive effects (those that interact with living tissues or systems) can benefit sun-damaged, discolored, inflamed and aging skin. The effects of the Red and Infrared light give people new choices for restoring their overall appearance. LED is one of the few non-invasive tools available that can reverse the appearance of aging skin.
On the other hand LED treatment at wavelength 405-420 nm (Blue light) works within the skin tissue reaching the P.Acnes Bacteria that causes acne. The light safely and effectively disintegrates the bacteria and at the same time causes proliferation of porphyrins to reside within the skin’s tissue and destroy P.Acnes Bacteria even after the treatment. Porphyrins work to continuously surpass the proliferation rate of P.Acnes Bacteria leading to the elimination of bacteria and lesions.
Patients have experienced up to 90% clearance of acne lesions 3-week/6 session treatment courses. And most patients were still acne-free at final follow-up 3-6 months after treatment.
Benefits of LED treatments:
Increase circulation of blood (circulation is improved by increasing the formation of new capillaries, which speed up the healing process by carrying more oxygen as well as more nutrients needed for healing and also carry more waste products away)
Stimulate the production of collagen (reduction of wrinkles and scar tissue)
Stimulate the release of adenosine triphosphate –ATP (ATP is the major carrier of energy to all cells. It is body’s fuel)
Increase lymphatic system activity (the lymph vessel diameter and the flow of the lymph system can be doubled which can evacuate edema (swelling) at a much faster rate)
Increase DNA and RNA synthesis (helps damaged cells to be replaced more promptly)
Stimulate fibroblast activity (which aids in the repair process and formation of collagen fibers)
Increase phagocytes (cells that responsible for infection and inflammation fighting process)
Induce a thermal like effect in the tissues (which can kill or disable temperature sensitive bacteria and viruses)
Regulate melanin production (reduce melasma-pregnancy mask, sun damage and age spots)
Destroys P.Acnes Bacteria and stimulate production of porphyrins (clearance of acne lesions)
LED Features and Benefits
- No pain, no side effects, no downtime
- Remarkably safe and effective for all skin types
- Non-thermal, non-invasive, and non-ablative
- Fast and convenient
- Treats large areas such as the entire face or chest at once
- No aftercare is needed
- Compatible with other skin rejuvenation techniques
What is the difference between LED and Lasers?
LED is another form of light therapy that is relatively recent development of the laser industry. LEDs are similar to lasers inasmuch as they can emit the same light but differ in the way that the light energy is delivered. Lasers are focused beam single-wavelength light emitters that can be intense enough to burn or cut tissues. LEDs do not damage the tissue, but they deliver enough energy to stimulate a response from the body to heal itself. With a low peak power output but high duty cycle, the LEDs provide a much gentler delivery of the same healing wavelengths of light, as does the laser but without the same risk of damage that lasers do.
Moreover, LEDs allow the light beam to spread out instead of being a pinpoint light beam and they generate a broader band of wavelength than does the single wavelength laser. Moreover, the multiplicity of wavelengths in the LED, contrary to the single wavelength laser, may enable it to affect a broader range of tissue types and produce a wider range of photochemical reactions in the tissue.
The primary reason why LED is the better choice over lasers is that LEDs are safer and provide much more effective delivery of light.
Reference:
www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/technologies/led_treatment.html
www.msfc.nasa.gov/news/releases/1999/99-252.html
Healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002355.html
