LED

LED Treatments – Through Deep Penetrating Light

Laboratory studies have shown that skin cells grow 150-200 percent faster when exposed to certain LED light wavelengths. Independent research for over 40 years has shown LED red and infrared light delivers powerful therapeutic benefits to living tissue. Both visible red and infrared light has been shown to affect at least 24 different positive changes at a deep level. Visible red light, at wavelengths from 630-660 nanometers, penetrates tissue to a depth of 8-10 mm. LED light is very beneficial in treating problems close to the skins surface such as wounds, cuts, and scars. Skin layers, because of their high blood and water content, absorb red light very readily and deliver enough energy to stimulate a response from the body to heal itself.

LED Photons must be absorbed to produce a biological response. All biological systems have a unique absorption spectrum, this uniqueness determines which wavelengths of light will be absorbed to produce a given therapeutic effect. The 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 tissue and triggers biological changes within the body in a process know as photobiomodulation. Although the exact mechanism of action is still undergoing study, what is know is that monochromatic light increases oxygen and blood flow, facilitating wound healing.

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 therapy is one of the few non-invasive tools available that can reverse the appearance of aging skin, such as wrinkles and mottled skin tone.

The LED skin light provides a proprietary lightwave design that penetrates deep into the skin to erase the appearance of aging – fine lines, wrinkles, enlarged pores, and crow’s feet.

Pricing

Photorejuvenation –   $75.00 per session
FAQ

How often and how long should I use the DPL Device?
The DPL™ Device is designed to run for nine (9) minutes per treatment. We recommend taking a maximum of two (2) DPL™ treatments daily for the first month and then two treatments per week after that. If you miss a treatment, don’t worry, just extend the daily treatments for the lost days. You may continue to use the light for the two 9 minute treatments per day after the one month period with no ill effects.
How long until I see results?
Everyone’s skin varies, but most people feel and see a difference in about four treatments. Because of differences in damaged skin, some people will see the benefits almost immediately and others will need more treatments. Because treatments are progressive, we recommend treatments for at least ten (10) weeks, for maximum results.
Do LED Treatments work on everyone?
LED treatments are proven to work on all skin types. There is over a 90% success rate for people using our system.
Can this hurt my eyes?
No studies have been found showing any harmful effects to the eyes when using our product correctly. However, we recommend not staring directly into our LEDs and we have provided a supply of eye shields for your comfort.
Why can’t I see light from some of the LED’s?
These LEDs (880 nm) are on and working properly. You cannot see them because they are in the infrared spectrum, which is not visible to the human eye. Some digital cameras and camcorders will display the infrared lights.
Can I combine LED treatments with other skin care?
Yes. LED treatments can be used alone or with other skin care treatments. Many physicians have found LED treatments to complement other skin care treatments.
Will LED treatments hurt?
No. Unlike lasers or other ablative (skin harming) treatments, LED treatments are non-thermal, non-ablative, and non-invasive. Clients report no discomfort or pain associated with LED treatments.

Is LED therapy and IPL (intense pulse light) therapy the same?
LED Therapy and IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) are different. There are several Commercial IPL systems on the market and they range from 500-1200 nm, but the big difference is in the energy output measured in joules/cm2. IPL typically has a power range of 3-90 Joules. It is closer to laser and because of that more dangerous than LEDs. IPL typically need trained users/aesthetician to administer.

Can I use the LED skin light for balding, acne, rosacea?

LED infrared / red light devices have been used for balding, * rosacea, pain, arthritis and acne. From the search we performed across the internet we have found that DPL LED’s use the same technology as other devices that are making these claims. Since this is a new product for us we are not willing to make any claims that this unit will produce the same results as other available units. This unit is being marketed as a cosmetic device. Most skin devices that are available have been commercial models and very expense. This is the first home model that we feel is reasonable, will cover you entire face with one treatment and we are hearing from our clients that it is producing great results.

* The president of LTP did see her rosacea greatly reduced, crows feet dramatically reduced, pain disappear from her hands and feet after using the light unit for 3 weeks.

What is the difference between Laser or LED?

LED’s produce (non-coherent, monochromatic light; spontaneous emission) – Laser’s produce (coherent, monochromatic light, stimulated emission)

Tiina Karu (1998: The Science of Low-Power Laser Therapy) states that “…the coherence of light is of no importance in low-power laser clinical effects” and “the primary difference between lasers and LED’s is that the laser’s coherent beam produces “speckles” of relatively high power density which can cause local heating of inhomogeneous tissues”.

Currently researchers & scientist agree that LED’s are effective in generating a response within living tissue and hence has a therapeutic effect if used properly.

Most published research on photorejuvenation has been conducted using Lasers and not LED’s. Only within the the last decade have LED’s been produced with a strong enough output power to be beneficial for photo rejuvenation

NASA has produced the best research documentation to date supporting the effectiveness of LED’s to stimulate plants and human tissue. Until more research is completed on the success of LED’s for photorejuvenation the effectiveness is still not supported by extensive research.

To summarize, both LED’s and Laser’s work, but more research is needed to determine their best suited role LED’s will play in photo-rejuvination.

What is the output of the LED skin light?

4 joules cm square

Isn’t it true that we are born with only so much collagen?

Collagen is a protein and as a protein collagen is synthesized (or formed) continuously in your body unless you have certain collagen deficiencies (scurvy or the lack of vitamin C is known to inhibit the production of collagen properly and the skin become fragile, wounds do not heal, skin discolors, among other results). Collagen chains are synthesized as longer precursors called “procollagens” and then transported or secreted into the extra cellular space after it is processed and assembled and these collagen molecules then polymerize to from Type I collagen.

There are 12-27 different collagen types (scientists disagree on the division). Type I collagen is the most abundant in the human body; it is present in scar tissue and is the end product when tissue heals itself by repair. This is the type of collage that our LED lights eventually forms. Type III collagen is the collagen of granulation tissue and is produced quickly by young fibroblasts before the tougher type of I collagen is synthesized. Our LEDs stimulate these fibroblasts which produce Type III collagen which eventually forms Type I collagen.

As we age genetics, (Intrinsic – internal aging) and Environmental (Extrinsic – external aging) slows the skin’s ability to repair itself from free-radical damage. Lasers work on reducing wrinkles by actually damaging the tissue causing Type I collage to be produced in the healing process. Our LED lights are non-invasive and do not harm the skin, but rather stimulate fibroblasts which produce collagen which repairs our skin damage.

Light Emitting Diodes

Light Emitting Diodes Aid in Wound Healing
Powerful light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been shown to help heal wounds in laboratory animals and are now being tested on humans at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The LEDs were developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to spur plant life in space.

Harry T. Whelan, MD, Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Hyperbaric Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, found that diabetic skin ulcers and other wounds in mice healed much faster when exposed to the special LEDs in the lab. Laboratory research has shown that the LEDs also grow human muscle and skin cells up to five times faster than normal. The study is conducted at the College’s MACC (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer) Fund Research Center.

“For most wounds, we do not need to interfere with nature’s healing,” Dr. Whelan said. “But this technology may be the answer for problem wounds that are slow to heal.”

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a multi-year investigation of the LEDs as an experimental treatment by a team led by Dr. Whelan. The study, funded by NASA, will specifically examine the technology’s effects on diabetic skin ulcers, serious burns and flesh wounds caused by radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The studies on patients are being done at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital.

LEDs are being studied in comparison to and in conjunction with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a standard treatment in which the patient is placed in a pressurized oxygen chamber to stimulate new cell growth.

In the first 18-month phase of the project, 100 individuals will be studied at Froedtert and Children’s Hospitals. The participants have wounds such as a burn, crush injury, radiation burn, skin graft, diabetic ulcer, or any other wound with poor blood or oxygen supply, that is determined by their physician to be healing slowly or not at all.

In a separate protocol, Dr. Whelan is studying and using the LEDs to promote healing of acute mouth ulcers resulting from chemotherapy and radiation used to treat cancer in children. The treatment is quick and painless.

“Some children who probably would have to be fed intravenously because of the severe sores in their mouths have been able to eat solid food,” said David Margolis, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and an oncologist at Children’s Hospital, whose pediatric cancer patients are participating in the study. “Preventing this oral mucositis improves the patient’s ability to eat and drink and also reduces the risk of infections in patients with compromised immune systems.”

“So far, what we see in patients and what we see in laboratory cell cultures, all point to one conclusion,” said Dr. Whelan. “The near-infrared light emitted by these LEDs seems to be perfect for increasing energy inside cells. This means whether you’re on Earth in a hospital, working on a submarine under the sea, or on your way to Mars inside a spaceship, the LEDs boost energy to the cells and accelerate healing.”

In another continuing study, Dr. Whelan has also used LED therapy to treat more than 20 individuals with brain cancer tumors without the side effects of traditional or laser surgery. This study, done in collaboration with Glenn A. Meyer, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery, uses LEDs to activate light-sensitive, cancer-killing drugs that can kill tumor cells beyond the surgeon’s reach without harming healthy cells.

LED technology was developed to enhance the growth of plant tissue in space by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Quantum Devices Inc. of Barneveld, Wisconsin. LEDs have a similar physiological effect on human cells as they do on plant cells. In space, the lack of gravity keeps cells from growing naturally, resulting in slow-growing plant life and loss of bone mass, atrophied muscles, and wounds that do not heal properly in astronauts. LEDs stimulate cytochromes in the body that increase the energy metabolism of cells. Cytochromes are part of the “electron transport chain” that converts sugar into instant energy required by the body to perform all of its actions, such as raising a finger or healing a wound.

Laser light has been shown to have similar effects on growing cells, but lasers are heavy, inefficient, more costly and do not offer the ideal wavelength of light for cell growth. The specially designed near-infrared LED has a longer wavelength than laser light that penetrates deeper — to a depth of 23 centimeters, or more that nine inches — without damaging the skin. Though three times brighter that the sun, the LED is very safe and easy to use, as well as portable. For wound healing, the LED is housed in a 3.5″ by 4.5″ flat array from which it emits a red light that is cool to the touch. An array of LEDs includes three wavelengths to affect various cell types.

An LED array is currently on board a US Navy nuclear submarine for treatment of potential training injuries. Dr. Whelan is a commander in the Navy and a diving medical officer for the Naval Special Warfare Command, which includes the SEAL (Sea, Air and Land) teams. Dr. Whelan has been inducted into the NASA Space Technology Hall of Fame for his research into the use of LEDs for wound healing and the treatment of brain tumors.

For more information on this topic, see the HealthLink article Healing with Light

Light-Emitting Diode

The NASA Light-Emitting Diode Medical Program –
Progress in Space Flight and Terrestrial Applications
Abstract. This work is supported and managed through the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center – SBIR Program. Studies on cells exposed to microgravity and hypergravity indicate that human cells need gravity to stimulate cell growth. As the gravitational force increases or decreases, the cell function responds in a linear fashion. This poses significant health risks for astronauts in long term space flight. LED-technology developed for NASA plant grown experiments in space shows promise for delivering light deep into tissues of the body to promote wound healing and human tissue growth. This LED-technology is also biologically optimal for photodynamic therapy of cancer.

LED-ENHANCEMENT OF CELL GROWTH
The application of light therapy with the use of NASA LED’s will significantly improve the medical care that is available to astronauts on long-term space missions. NASA LED’s stimulate the basic energy processes in the mitochondria (energy compartments) of each cell, particularly when near-infrared light is used to activate the color sensitive chemicals (chromophores, cytochrome systems) inside. Optimal LED wavelengths include 680, 730 and 880 nm. The depth of near-infrared light penetration into human tissue has been measured spectroscopically (Chance, et al 1988). Spectra taken from the wrist flexor muscles in the forearm and muscles in the calf of the leg demonstrate that most of the light photons at wavelengths between 630-800 nm travel 23 cm through the surface tissue and muscle between input and exit at the photon detector. Our laboratory has improved the healing of wounds in laboratory animals by using NASA LED light and hyperbaric oxygen. Furthermore, DNA synthesis in fibroblasts and muscle cells has been quintupled using NASA LED light alone, in a single application combining 680, 730, and 880 nm each at 4 Joules per centimeter squared.

Muscle and bone atrophy are well documented in astronauts, and various minor injuries occurring in space have been reported not to heal until landing on Earth. Long term space flight, with its many inherent risks, also raises the possibility of astronauts being injured performing their required tasks. The fact that the normal healing process is negatively affected by microgravity requires novel approaches to improve wound healing and tissue growth in space. NASA LED arrays have already flown on Space Shuttle missions for studies of plant growth. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved human trials. The use of light therapy with LED’s is an approach to help increase the rate of wound healing in the microgravity environment, reducing the risk of treatable injuries becoming mission catastrophes.

Wounds heal less effectively in space than here on Earth. Improved wound healing may have multiple applications which benefit civilian medical care, military situations and long-term space flight. Laser light and hyperbaric oxygen have been widely acclaimed to speed wound healing in ischemic, hypoxic wounds. An excellent review of recent human experience with near-infrared light therapy for wound healing was published by Conlan, et al in 1996. Lasers provide low energy stimulation of tissues which results in increased cellular activity during wound healing (Beauvoit, 1989, 1995; Eggert, 1993; Karu, 1989; Lubart, 1992, 1997; Salansky, 1998; Whelan, 1999; Yu, 1997). Some of these activities include increased fibroblast proliferation, growth factor syntheses, collagen production and angiogenesis.

Lasers, however, have some inherent characteristics, which make their use in a clinical setting problematic, including limitations in wavelengths and beam width. The combined wavelengths of light optimal for wound healing cannot be efficiently produced, and the size of wounds which may be treated by lasers is limited. Light-emitting diodes (LED’s) offer an effective alternative to lasers. These diodes can be made to produce multiple wavelengths, and can be arranged in large, flat arrays allowing treatment of large wounds. Our experiments suggest potential for using LED light therapy at 680, 730 and 880 nm simultaneously, alone and in combination with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, both alone and in combination, to accelerate the healing process in Space Station Missions, where prolonged exposure to microgravity may otherwise retard healing. NASA LED’s have proven to stimulate wound healing at near-infrared wavelengths of 680, 730 and 880 nm in laboratory animals, and have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human trials. Furthermore, near-infrared LED light has quintupled the growth of fibroblasts and muscle cells in tissue culture. The NASA LED arrays are light enough and mobile enough to have already flown on the Space Shuttle numerous times. LED arrays may prove to be useful for improving wound healing and treating problem wounds, as well as speeding the return of deconditioned personnel to full duty performance. Potential benefits to NASA, military, and civilian populations include treatment of serious burns, crush injuries, non-healing fractures, muscle and bone atrophy, traumatic ischemic wounds, radiation tissue damage, compromised skin grafts, and tissue regeneration.