Healing process improvement after irradiation with the Blue LED 'EmoLED' device

Background A blue LED photocoagulator, named EMOLED, has been designed. The device emits in the blue-violet region of the light spectrum. When irradiating a bleeding wound, the light is absorbed by the haemoglobin and converted in a temperature enhancement, thus inducing coagulation. In this work we present a study on the healing process in superficial wounds treated with EMOLED. Methods The compact device was tested on superficial skin wounds in animal model. Four mechanical abrasions were produced on the back of 10 Sprague Dawley rats: two were treated with the blue-LED device, while the other two were left to naturally recover. During irradiation, the device was kept in a slow motion above the bleeding site, in a non-contact configuration. Temperature control was performed during treatment. The 30s treatment was performed once and then the animals underwent an 8 days follow up study. Samples from treated and untreated sites and from a healthy control underwent non-linear microscopy analyses, histology, immunofluorescence analysis. Results Temperature monitoring during treatment evidenced a maximum value of about 48°C. Visual observations, non-linear microscopic imaging, as well as histology and himmuno-fluorescence analyses demonstrated no adverse reactions neither thermal damages in both abraded areas and surrounding tissue. A reduced fibroblast and myofibroblast density was observed in the treated wounds. In treated wounds the collagen fiber bundles show typical dermal collagen architecture; the collagen organization was more isotropic; collagen fiber bundle size is in average smaller in the untreated with respect to the treated wounds. Conclusions These preliminary results evidenced a faster healing process and a better-recovered skin morphology: the treated wounds show a reduced inflammatory response and a higher, isotropic, collagen content.