Use of Light Emitting Diodes (LED) in Pathogen Elimination, Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration

Enhancing the soldier's tissue responses to injury may lead to battlefield resilience and medical independence. Counter-measures to chemical, biological and radioactive weapons exposures, which are based on biostimulation of natural tissue regenerationmechanisms, could be more universally safe and effective than conventional drugs and surgical modalities. Regeneration of wounded organs and limbs may also be possible if biostimulation could reawaken molecular events leading to re-growth of tissue. We arenow investigating applications of LED wound healing technology for self-care of the soldier. Several uniquely military situations and indications could be addressed, optimizing near-IR parameters for wound healing via LED's during extended missions, underconditions in which the soldier is separated from medical personnel. This DARPA funded SBIR will begin work to dramatically enhance biostimulation using this LED-technology with a project focused on rapid healing of retinal laser-injury. There is no doubtthat this type biostimulatory enhancement, once demonstrated, can be immediately applied to military applications and will have profound economic implications for the health care industry. With the development of a low cost LED source, this technology willno doubt find its way into rural area medical facilities thereby making the technology readily available to everyone. The world wide commercial implications for this device technology are enormous.