LED based otpical haemostatic device

Contributed by

francesco pavone

Authors

D. Alfieri, R. Cicchi, F. Rossi, G. de Siena, D. Massi, R. Pini and F. Pavone

Abstract

Light+ter project addresses a public health problem, i.e. coagulation disorders, typical of hereditary diseases like haemophilia (40,000 people affected in EU27), or induced by use of specific anti-coagulant drugs (20 million people in EU27). Bleeding disorders have a strong impact on the quality of life. Usual small medical interventions, as dental surgery, pose important problems for these patients, requiring the suspension of the anticoagulant therapy days before the surgery, with the consequent risk of having a relapse of the cardiovascular problem. In this framework, there is a technological need for a cheap, safe and easy to handle tool to help blood coagulation, to be used directly by the patient or by low-specialized personnel. The final goal of Light+ter project is to address this need through the development of a compact and easy to use device based on Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, able to induce haemostasis of skin blood vessels without damaging the surrounding tissues. The main mechanism at the basis of Light+ter project is photo-thermo haemostasis (conversion of radiant energy to heat by haemoglobin that results in thermal denaturation of blood) which up to date have been realised only through very expensive, bulky and complex laser sources. Light+ter project, starting from the concept at the basis of a patent owned by the SME partner Light4Tech, aims at demonstrating the use of low cost LEDs to induce non invasive photo-thermal coagulation, and will develop a prototype of device that could be configured both as an over-the–counter product and as an ambulatory tool (e.g. dental surgery). Light+ter project will help the 34,500 SMEs active in EU in the biomedical sector to gain market share in medical device market with an innovative product that will strongly improve the quality of life of people with coagulation disorders.

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