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Gunjan Sinha Popular Science
Light-emitting
diodes developed by NASA to grow plants in outer space,
it turns out, can generate a lot more than a little green.
Scientists have also discovered that the diodes speed up
wound healing.
In a
small study, a portable flat array of LEDs placed on the
outside of a patient’s cheek for about 1 minute a day
helped heal mouth ulcers caused by cancer therapies. Now,
as part of a nationwide clinical trial, scientists are investigating
the therapy to treat such hard-to-heal wounds as diabetic
skin ulcers, burns, and oral sores.
While
laser light and pressurized oxygen are known to speed healing,
their use in a clinical setting is problematic, explains
lead researcher Harry Whelan. "They don’t emit
the appropriate wavelengths, and the machines are the size
of refrigerators." LEDs emit infrared light at up to
880 nanometers — wavelengths that are long enough to
penetrate deep into bodily tissues. And because they can
deliver light without heat, they are safer than most lasers.
Normally,
cells get their energy from the food we eat, but cells can
also use light to generate energy. In the laboratory, skin
and muscle cells exposed to the infrared light grow 150
to 200 percent faster. Whelan is also investigating whether
LEDs can heal muscle and bone injuries that have not healed
through traditional physical therapy.
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