25th April – 20th July 2018: Light Fantastic.

On display in the ‘light fantastic’ exhibition will be a LED array consisting of wavelengths spanning the visible to near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (~400nm-850nm). The array was designed and manufactured by members of the photobiomodulation group in collaboration with electrical engineering. There are many applications of light in modern biomedical settings and range from the curing of photopolymers, routinely used in dentistry as aesthetic white filling, to using light to directly stimulate or inhibit biological processes. In fact, the therapeutic effect of light for disease treatment has been recognized for many centuries. In the early part of the 20^th century, exposure to sun light was used to treat diseases such as dementia, tuberculosis and acne. Currently UV and BLUE light is used to treat rickets, neo-natal jaundice and a range of dermatological disorders. GREEN light has been shown to improve skin metabolism and has been shown to be effective at lightening sunspots and freckles. RED and NIR (near infra-red) light however have been used to treat musculoskeletal injuries, degenerative diseases, skin diseases and neuropathic pain. As such these wavelengths have been applied in almost all tissues and organs of the body.

 

The work stems from research carried out by the Photobiomodulation Research Group and more details can be found here

Some scientific details of the research can be found through these papers:

Holder MJ, Milward MR, Palin WM, Hadis MA, Cooper PR. Effects of red light­ emitting diode irradiation on dental pulp cells. J Dent Res. 2012 Oct;91(10):961-6.

Milward MR, Holder MJ, Palin WM, Hadis MA, Carroll JD, Cooper PR. Low level light therapy (LLLT) for the treatment and management of dental and oral diseases. Dent Update 2014; 41: 763-772.

Milward MR, Hadis MA, Cooper PR, Gorecki P, Carroll JD, Palin WM (2015). Biomodulatory effects of laser irradiation on dental pulp cells in vitro. Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging, 9309: 930908

Palin WM, Hadis MA, Milward MR, Carroll JD, Cooper PR (2015). Beam profile measurements for dental phototherapy: The effect of distance, wavelength and tissue thickness, Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging, 9309: 930905

Hadis MA, Cooper PR, Milward MR, Gorecki P, Tarte E, Churm J, Palin WM (2015). The effect of UV-Vis to near-infrared light on the biological response of human dental pulp cells. Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging, 9309: 930906

Hadis MA, Zainal SA, Holder MJ, Carroll JD, Cooper PR, Milward MR, Palin WM. The dark art of light measurement: accurate radiometry for low-level light therapy. Lasers Med Sci. 2016 May;31(4):789-809. doi: 10.1007/s10103-016-1914-y .

Hadis MA, Cooper PR, Milward MR, Gorecki PC, Tarte E, Churm J, Palin WM. Development and application of LED arrays for use in phototherapy research. J Biophotonics. 2017 Feb 6. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201600273