NASA Light-Emitting Diode Technology Brings Relief In Clinical Trials
"LEDs provide light for plants grown on the Space Station as part of commercial experiments sponsored by industry. Researchers discovered the diodes also had many promising medical applications, prompting NASA to fund this research as well, through its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Biologists have found that cells exposed to near-infrared light from LEDs, which is energy just outside the visible range, grow 150 to 200 percent faster than cells not stimulated by such light. The light arrays increase energy inside cells that speed up the healing process..."
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University of Wisconsin Research
"Space light-emitting diode (LED) technology has provided medicine with a new tool capable of delivering light deep into tissues of the body, at wavelengths which are biologically optimal for cancer treatment and wound healing. This LED technology has already flown on Space Shuttle missions, and shows promise for wound healing applications of benefit to Space Station astronauts, and in Special Operations..."
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Healing Light
"Experiments with light energy are making everyone happy: farmers, doctors, patients, and astronauts are all reaping the benefits. What began as a way to grow better crops has ended up being a way to help seriously ill patients recover faster. In this case, what's good for plants is also good for people..."
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NASA Space Technology Shines 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, serious burns, and severe oral sores caused by chemotherapy and radiation. The project includes laboratory and human trials, 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, Ala..."
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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..."
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