NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Mitzi Macke, RN, a nurse in the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, demonstrates use of a WARP 75 device. The device uses High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS, which is a type of LED technology that provides intense light energy. The innovation of the NASA HEALS technology provides the equivalent light energy of 12 suns from each of the 288 LED chips -- each the size of a grain of salt.

The WARP 75 device is one of many devices using HEALS technology, developed in collaboration with NASA. The WARP 75 device was used for light therapy treatment on cancer patients during a two-year clinical trial funded by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The NASA program works with industry and medical partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative medical applications. The clinical trial found that 670 nanometers of light technology, used for plant growth experiments on the International Space Station, improved the painful side effects of chemotherapy and radiation in cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants. The trial included 20 cancer patients from Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, and 60 cancer patients from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Alabama, also in Birmingham. (NASA/David Higginbotham)
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A nurse in the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital demonstrates use of a WARP 75 device. The device uses High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS, which is a type of LED technology that provides intense light energy. The innovation of the NASA HEALS technology provides the equivalent light energy of 12 suns from each of the 288 LED chips -- each the size of a grain of salt. The WARP 75 device is one of many devices using HEALS technology, developed in collaboration with NASA. The device was used for light therapy treatment on cancer patients during a two-year clinical trial funded by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The NASA program works with industry and medical partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative medical applications. The clinical trial found that 670 nanometers of light technology, previously used for plant growth experiments on the International Space Station, improved the painful side effects of chemotherapy and radiation in cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Quantum Devices Inc. (QDI) of Barneveld Wis., developed the WARP 75 light delivery system for use in the trial. The device is one of many developed in collaboration with NASA. (NASA/Higginbotham)
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Dr. Donna Salzman, clinical trial principal investigator and director of clinical services and education at the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, describes the results of the two-year clinical trial using High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS technology. Previously used for plant growth experiments in space, scientists have used HEALS technology to develop a device that uses 670 nanometers of light as treatment for oral mucositis -- a common and extremely painful side effect of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Salzman noted the WARP 75 could offer patients several benefits: better nutrition, since eating can be difficult with painful mouth and throat sores; less narcotic use to treat mouth and throat pain; and an increase in patient morale -- all of which can contribute to shorter hospital stays and less potential for infection. (NASA/Higginbotham)
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Glowing red light from High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS technology -- previously used to grow plants for space experiments -- also has been proven to aid in the healing of human wounds, burns, diabetic skin ulcers and oral mucositis -- a common and extremely painful side effect of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. NASA has partnered with Quantum Devices Inc. (QDI), of Barneveld Wis., to develop the WARP 75 light delivery system device for wound healing. A two-year clinical trial using the WARP 75 device on cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants, concluded that there was a 96-percent chance that the improvement in pain relief of those in the high-risk patient group was the result of the HEALS treatment. The clinical trial was funded by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The NASA program works with industry and commercial partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative applications. (NASA/Higginbotham)
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Special High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS technology developed for NASA's commercial plant growth experiments in space is helping to treat cancer and save lives on Earth. NASA has partnered with Quantum Devices Inc. (QDI) of Barneveld Wis., to develop the WARP 75 light delivery system device for wound healing. A two-year clinical trial using the WARP 75 device on cancer patients undergoing bone marrow or stem cell transplants, concluded that there was a 96-percent chance that the improvement in pain relief of those in the high-risk patient group was the result of the HEALS treatment. The clinical trial was funded by NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The NASA program works with industry and commercial partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative applications. (NASA/Higginbotham)
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The WARP 75 light delivery system is a wound-healing device made by Quantum Devices Inc. of Barneveld, Wis. The device is derived from a light delivery system providing High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or HEALS technology to grow plant experiments in space. It is a small 3.5-inch by 4.5-inch (90 by 145-millimeter) portable, flat array of special, lot-set-aside, chip-on-board mount Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). A nurse practitioner places the WARP 75 on the outside of a patient's cheek where it shines for just over a minute each day, promoting wound healing and preventing mouth sores caused by radiation and chemotherapy. NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program works with industry and commercial partners to spinoff space technology and adapt it for new, innovative applications. (NASA/Higginbotham)
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