The Beginning of LED Light Therapy with NASA

The LED Light Therapy goes back to early scientific experiments by NASA that originated with LEDs, or the Light Emitting Diodes. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in the state of Alabama, in addition to Quantum Devices, Inc., of Wisconsin, had taken specific plants that were placed aboard the Space Shuttle, exposing them in space to near-infrared light produced by LEDs.

The purpose of using the LEDs was because they increased the energy that was produced in the energy compartments of each plant cell, causing the cells to grow much faster. Everybody on Earth benefited from NASA's new scientific find for faster-growing plants--farmers especially as their crops could be grown faster, bringing about a quicker harvest, faster processing, and bringing in more money for a faster turn-about-time.  From this moment on, LED Light Therapy took on an entire new meaning.

While NASA was working on the growing rate of the plants in space with the LEDs, Quantum Devices scientists overheard discussions among physicians in regard to laser therapy for their patients. Apparently, laser lights for people accelerated cell growth and healing, but had some pretty serious drawbacks in its use.  Surrounding tissue areas had became overheated when the lasers were used, the lasers were said to be huge and expensive to operate, they were limited in color wavelength, and on the average they were not very reliable.

When NASA and Quantum Devices joined forces, the resulting LED Light Therapy had many advantages over the older methods. LEDs did not heat the tissues, as did the older lasers, because they used a longer wavelength that was near-infrared light that helped to penetrate deeper into the tissues. In other words, the redder the light is the longer the wavelength, which means it can penetrate the body tissues deeper.  This made it a perfect treatment for crush injuries, badly burned victims, cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatment complications--all areas where large body areas are involved. 

When LED light is used to activate the light-sensitive chemotherapy drugs to destroy cancer, the nickname Photo Dynamic Therapy was given to it, or PDT. In addition, the stimulation of normal cell chemicals uses LED Light Therapy without any drugs to heal and regenerate human tissues.  How this works is that LED Light Therapy reacts with parts of certain cells that are called cytochromes, that respond to light and color in order to cause their energy levels to raise. 

The new LED Light Therapy medical treatment has begun to help people who have had no hope of treatment with their diseases, by regenerating tissue, muscle, brain and bone. The most exciting thing is the original experiments by  NASA with their  LED Light Therapy that began in space are now being used for muscle and bone atrophy in astronauts.