Our story
We are engineers who design products for broadcast and avionics. We know how to drive and control LEDs, having created many LED products for illumination in studio and underwater environments. LED light therapy was a new concept that piqued our interest because of a family member's experience with existing technology.
We were skeptical that this "light in a bottle" could effectively treat any ailment. Most of the products available to non-medical personnel seemed to be not much more than flashlights in pretty housings. Still, even with these crude offerings, some users reported positive results. Being curious, we researched the science behind LED light therapy, known in the medical community as Photo-Biostimulation Therapy, which is also closely related to Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)
An early confirmation of LED lights’ healing power came from NASA supported research: "Thus far, we have demonstrated that the best results for wound healing occur at wavelengths of 670 nm and 880 nm using energy densities 4-8 J/cm2, applied at power intensities of approximately 50 mW/cm2." This research gave us the power levels, the wavelengths, and exposure time needed for efficacy.
NASA LED arrays have already flown on space shuttle missions for studies of plant growth. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved human trials. The use of light therapy using LEDs helps prevent bone and muscle atrophy and increases the rate of wound healing in a microgravity environment, which reduces the risk of treatable injuries becoming mission catastrophes. In a 2-year clinical trial, cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants received a far red/near infrared Light Emitting Diode treatment called High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS, to treat oral mucositis—a painful side effect of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The trial found a 96 percent chance that the improvement in pain in the high-risk patient group resulted from the HEALS treatment. These results and the quality of NASA’s research and others’ data convinced us that LED light therapy can make a real difference in patient health and comfort.
Next came our challenge—to design a cost effective handheld solution. Ours could not duplicate previous art or be just a "me too" product. Our assessment of existing LED therapy devices confirmed that these products were no more than glorified flashlights. The most sophisticated units had timers. All had such low levels of LED light that only weeks of continuous use would reach therapeutic exposure levels. Their documentation underestimated how much time would be needed to treat injuries. The placebo effect might explain why many users reported positive results despite low light levels. The non-medical handheld devices we studied lacked the light levels needed for effective treatment.
We still had questions: "Was power level, wavelength of the light, and exposure the only variables affecting efficacy? Could there be a fourth dimension that would make these devices even more effective?"
The answer was YES, and we found it in the book Healing Energies of Heat and Light by Charles McGee, MD who described the work of French neurologist Paul Nogier.
Dr. Nogier developed a unique pulse test that revealed that all tissues and organs throughout the body (which develop from three basic embryologic tissues, ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm) are in resonance (sympathetic vibration) at specific frequencies. Based on these findings, he designed electronic instruments that delivered seven pulsed energies into the body to heal injured or diseased organs and tissues by exposing them to their normal resonance frequency.
Dr.McGee discussed a hand-held light therapy device that consisted of LEDs pulsed at Nogier's frequencies. According to Dr. McGee, such a device appears to have far stronger healing effects than non-pulsed lasers set on low power outputs or non-pulsed LEDs, regardless of their wavelengths (color)1. Of those seven pulse frequencies, three had application in the same areas of interest as our LED light therapy products. The user can preselect the pulse rate prior to activation.
We also added a vibration motor, which the user can turn on/off. While no data suggests that gentle massage increases efficacy, it makes the application more pleasant.
After 3 years of research and study, and three generations of product design and testing, we offer the most effective handheld therapeutic LED Light source available anywhere.
We call it TreatLED.
1. Dr. Charles McGee, MD, Healing Energies of Heat and Light, MediPress, 2000, p. 117.