Report on LED Technology from NASA

Subject:  LEDs Studied for Healing   Release:  00-197        December, 2000

Michael Braukus                     Jerry Berg                                Toranj A Marphetia
Headquarters                           Marshall Space Flight Center  Medical College of Wisconsin           
Washington, DC                     Huntsville, AL                                    Milwaukee, WI
Phone: 202-358-1979              Phone: 205-544-0034              Phone: 414-456-4700

 

          NASA SPACE TECHNOLOGY SHINES NEW LIGHT ON HEALING

  Doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have discovered the healing power of light with the help of technology developed for NASA’s space shuttle. Using powerful light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, originally designed for commercial plant-growth research in space, scientists have found a way to help patients here on earth.

Doctors are examining how this special lighting technology helps hard-to-heal wounds, such as diabetic skin ulcers, skin ulcers, serious burns, and severe oral sores caused by chemotherapy and radiation. The project, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and funded by a NASA Small Business Innovation Research contract through the Technology Transfer Department at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, includes laboratory and human trials.

   “So far, what we’ve seen in patients and what we’ve seen in laboratory cell cultures, all point to one conclusion,” said Dr. Harry Whelan, professor of pediatric neurology and director of hyperbaric medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “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 in a submarine under the sea or on your way to Mars inside a spaceship, the LEDs boost energy to the cells and accelerate healing.”

Dr. Whelan’s findings will be summarized in upcoming issues of Space Technology and Applications International Forum 2001 and in The Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery. Other related peer-reviewed journals have published articles on Whelan’s medical research with light-emitting diodes.

Dr. Whelan’s NASA-funded research has already seen remarkable results using the light-emitting diodes to promote healing of painful mouth ulcers by cancer therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy. The treatment is quick and painless.

   The wound-healing device is a small, 3.5 inch by 4.5 inch (89 millimeter by 114 millimeter) portable, flat array of LEDs, arranged in rows on the top of a small box. A nurse practitioner places the box of LEDs on the outside of the patient’s cheeks about one minute each day. The red light penetrates to the inside of the mouth, where it seems to promote wound healing and prevent further sores in the patient’s mouth.

“Some children who probably would have had to be fed intravenously because of the severe sores in their mouths have been able to eat solid foods,” said Dr. David Margolis, as assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and an oncologist at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Dr. Margolis continued, “Preventing oral mucositis improves the patient’s ability to eat and drink and also may reduce the risk of infections in patients with compromised immune systems.”

    Dr. Whelan’s collaboration with NASA began when Ronald Ignatius, owner of Quantum Devices, Inc., in Barneveld, WI, learned about Dr. Whelan’s brain cancer surgery technique using drugs stimulated by laser lights. Laser-light surgical probes are costly and cumbersome in the operating room because they are heavy, with refrigerator-size optical, electrical and cooling systems.

   Ignatius originally designed the lights for plant growth experiments through the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics, a NASA commercial space center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

“The LEDs needed to grow plants in space produced the same wave lengths of light the doctor needed to remove brain tumors,” said Ignatius. “Plus, when we developed the LEDs for NASA, they had to be lightweight to fly aboard the shuttle and have small cooling systems. These traits make the LED surgery probes easier to use in the operating room and thousands of dollars cheaper then laser systems.”

    Quantum Devices altered the surgical probe to emit longer wavelengths of red light that stimulate a photodynamic drug called Benzoporphyrin Derivative. Doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin recently completed the first-ever surgery. The ongoing brain surgery study is described in a 1999 peer-reviewed journal article in Pediatric Neurosurgery.

The LED research project will continue for the next 18 months, with doctors studying 100 patients at two major teaching affiliates of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Researchers will continue to examine the influence of LEDs on cells grown in the laboratory, and will explore the benefits that LEDs might provide to counteract possible cell damage caused by exposure to harmful radiation and weightlessness during long space missions.

 

 

    A Synopsis of the Therapeutic Effects of Monochromatic Single-Wavelength Red Light

In Europe, during the 1960’s, it was discovered that certain monochromatic single-wavelength light beams had an excellent therapeutic effect on afflicted cell tissue. This occurs through a process called “Photo-Stimulation”. Various single-wavelengths in the red and infrared color spectrums (630 to 950 nanometers) have been used extensively because they fall within the cellular frequency range of biological tissue.  However, the most widely used is the 660 nanometer red wavelength, which appears to be the most effective, as it is closer to the actual resonance frequency of the health cell.  A single light wave is essential, because the cell tissue will not respond if more than one wavelength is present.

    Depending upon whether the light beam is continuous or pulsed (turned on and off very rapidly), the single-wavelength light photo stimulates the afflicted cell tissue differently. “Continuous light” sedates the tissue, resulting in relief of pain, relaxation of tense muscles, and reduced swelling. This is accomplished by an increase in cellular blood flow (which causes a warm feeling deep within the tissue) and by an actual physical tissue relaxation. “Pulsed light” stimulates the DNA within the afflicted cell, causing the cell to produce an increased quantity of protein and calcium, which results in an accelerated healing of the tissue from 3 to 5 times faster than normal.

To reach the problem areas, the light beam can either by applied directly to the skin, where it penetrates about one inch into the soft tissue, or for deeper penetration into the body, it can be applied to the acupuncture points. A single-wavelength light beam will travel through the body’s acupuncture meridian channels like an optical fiber, to reach internal areas within the body. The light also acts as an extremely effective acupuncture-point stimulator device. Therefore, using a combination of both direct application and acupuncture/acupressure-point techniques, any problem within your body may be reached by the light.

    There are only two available methods of producing this desired monochromatic single wavelength light beam without introducing other wavelengths or impurities. The first is with a “Laser” and second is with a “Light-Emitting Diode”, or LED. The choice of material used in the construction of both devices determines which specific wavelength is produced. Both devices produce a monochromatic single-wavelength, but the laser produces coherent light (in phase) while LEDs provide non-coherent light (out of phase). This type of laser uses very low power, compared to the normal high-power lasers used in surgery and advanced technology applications. These are referred to as “soft, cold, or weak lasers”, and they produce only enough light power to stimulate damaged cell tissue.

     Soft lasers have been well researched and used over the past 25 years. They are available in many clinics, hospitals, and doctor’s offices around the world. The most extensively published uses have been for relief of pain, accelerated healing of wounds, treatment of skin conditions, wrinkle removal, and acupuncture-point stimulation. Soft-lasers are not readily available for home use. They are expensive and are approved for use only by licensed physicians, health professionals, and clinical technicians. They can be harmful if over-used or if they come into contact with the eyes. Therefore, individuals must go to a licensed health professional if they desire treatment with a “soft-laser”.

Today, however, thanks to the technological development of LEDs, an individual may take advantage of this phototherapy concept in the home. LEDs have changed from a simple 15 millicandle “indicator-type light”, used in electronic equipment, to the 500-times brighter (8000 millicandle) light now used in medical applications. Photo-stimulation by an LED unit is now 90% as effective as the “soft-laser” unit. This means, for example, that arthritis pain which is relieved by a “soft-laser” in 6 minutes would be relieved by an LED unit in about 7 minutes!

The advantages of using LEDs are tremendous. The cost of LEDs is one-tenth of the cost of “soft-lasers” and their life expectancy is 20 times longer (100,000 hours of use). Better yet, an LED is completely harmless, cannot be over-used, has no side effects and can even be sued on the eyes. Therefore, you can do nothing wrong with it! This allows the LED phototherapy unit to be used on a much wider range of problems then the “soft-laser”. The results show that when using the “photo-stimulation” on afflicted cell tissue, it is the “monochromatic single-wavelength” feature that is more important to cellular response than is the “coherent” (laser) or “non-coherent” (LED) aspect of light.

    The following uses represent those problem areas where a significant number of researched techniques, reported testimonies and observed results have been recorded.

Arthritis                                                           Accelerated Wound Healing
Asthma                                                            Acupuncture Point Stimulation
Burns                                                               Addictive Habit Reduction:
Eyes & Ears                                                    Tobacco, Food, Drugs, Alcohol
Food  Allergies                                               Building Up the Blood
Headaches                                                       Emotion & Stress
Herpes                                                             Energy Balancing & Stimulation
Meridian Balancing                                         Facial Toning (Wrinkle Reduction)
Pain Relief                                                      Improved Circulation
Reduced Swelling                                           Insect Stings & Bites
Sinus Relief                                                     Reflexology Point Stimulation
Skin Condition                                                Relaxation of Muscle Tension
Teeth & Gums                                                 Sprains & Pulled Muscles
Ulcers                                                              Whiplash & Low Back Pain

   The simplest way to use this “photo-stimulation” is to acquire a portable LED phototherapy unit from a manufacturer or distributor. The least expensive type would be battery-operated. It should have a 660 nanometer LED with a brightness of 6,000-8,000 millicandles and both a continuous and pulsed light beam option. The recommendation for the pulse rate is 235-295 cycles per second. The phototherapy unit should also have a money-back period for you to test it. The LEDs have allowed a very important medical technology to now be used by individuals in their own homes, as well as in the offices and clinics of health professionals.

NOTE: This is an expose’ on human use, however this is being used for veterinarian therapies. Many veterinarians and animal owners are reporting similar results.

 

 

 

 

    

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

 

      The Experimental Use of a 1028 Cycles Per Second Voltage Square Wave for Repair of Bone

          Fractures Bone Breaks,  Cartilage Damage, and Connective Tissue Damage in General
                by Gary Wade, Physicist (10/27/08)

   Some years ago in a phone conversation with a voltage square wave Rife machine practitioner, I was told a story of how a horse with a non-union fracture for nine months was quickly healed by the use/application of a 1028 cycles per second (cps) voltage square wave applied across the non-union fracture (see illustration in Figure 1). This 1028 cps wave treatment protocol for the horse was provided by a dowser at the request of the Rife machine practitioner. The dowser specified than an output voltage of 3.6 to 6.3 volts was best to use. This corresponds to the output amplitude knob on the great majority of signal function generators set to approximately 1/3 to a little over ½ on (knob in straight up position). The 1028 cps voltage square wave was to be used for broken bones for twenty minutes –two to three times per twenty –four hours.

     Approximately a year after I received this information, I had a phone call from a man looking for a Rife frequency to help his wife who had a non-union broken bone in her foot for nine months. I passed the 1028 cps information on to him. Approximately 3 weeks later he called and thanked me, informing me that his wife’s bone break was healing very well as verified by x-ray. Another 9 months passed and he called again to thank me for her COMPLETYE recovery!

After seeing the complete recovery of his wife, he informed me that he decided to try the 1028 cps voltage square wave on his degenerative hip joint which greatly limited his mobility. He placed one electrode on the front side of his hip and one on the backside of his right hip, treating himself at night while he slept. After 2 months of treatment, he claimed his right hip was completely regenerated and that he no longer had trouble walking and climbing stairs.

 As time passed, I continued to pass on the 1028 cps information to people in need. I now have numerous reports of success in treating knee cartilage and knee connective tissue damage, broken/fractured bones and connective tissue injuries throughout the body. Wherever there is a damaged area or region, just place the electrodes so that the problem region is approximately between them. Approximate treatment time for optimum results is not known, however all night treatments (8 hours) have so far shown no adverse effects as long as the signal function generator output voltage is not set too high and the DC offset is not on.

   As a practical example, consider the treatments of animals such as horses and dogs. They have a fur (electrically insulating dense hair) attached to a hide. To get the needed electrical current into the flesh, the current must pass through the fur and hide regions. To accomplish this, an electrically conducive gel is needed to be worked (kneaded) into the fur thoroughly so as to make a continuously electrically conductive path from the surface of the fur to the surface of the hide. You could just shave an area big enough for electrode placement, however in the case of show horses and show dogs this might not be desirable.  The electronically conducive gel can be obtained on amazon.com in the form of ultrasound gel, which usually doubles as an electrically conducive gel. Make sure you check on the gel before you purchase the gel.

The electrodes can be held in place by the use of an ace bandage or masking tape. You can buy rolls of masking tape that are ½”, 1”, 2”, 3”, etc. wide and wrap them around the foot, ankle, and knee to hold the electrodes in place. Two large (3” plus wide) pieces of masking tape can be used to hold the electrodes on the front and back side of a hip joint. On people, it may be necessary to shave the area.

   As electrodes, you can use fender washers attached to alligator clips or drill a hole in their edge and solder dual wires from the signal function generator to them. Use heat shrink on the wires where they are connect to the washer to greatly lessen work hardening, therefore breaking the solder connections to

the washer (see photographs). Be sure to use very fine steel wool to clean the fender soldering sites before soldering.  Just think of all the horses out there that have connective/cartilage tissue damage in their feet, ankles, knees, and shoulders that could potentially be greatly helped by the use of the 1028 cps voltage square wave experimental therapy!