Philips tech enables wearable light therapy device
By Evan Blass 
posted Apr 24th 2006 1:37PM
posted Apr 24th 2006 1:37PM
When Philips was looking for medical applications for their flexible Ledfoil disks, they were probably hoping to find
a market of more than 200 people, but luckily for sufferers of the rare Crigler-Najjar syndrome, they happened to come
across Dutch student Philomeen Engels. Engels, a recent graduate of the Delft University of Technology, had the idea of
creating a wearable light therapy device using the Philips tech, which would free Crigler-Najjar patients -- whose
bodies cannot break down the potentially lethal red blood cell by-product called bilirubine -- from the 12 hours they
must spend inside converted sunbeds each day. The device, known as the Ledwrap, contains twelve Ledfoils between two
layers of cloth and can act as either a sleeping bag or a rather bulky bodysuit for more freedom of movement -- well,
as much movement as an extension cord allows, since the LEDs require too much juice to run on batteries. Engels hopes
to have the first Ledwraps on the market within a year, although that may be a bit optimistic, as the prototype has yet
to undergo the rather non-trivial task of actual medical testing.
a la Tron
Is it gonna have a wicked battery pack like John T. in the Boy in the Bubble?
I like the ground effects by her shoes... BLING!
SUBZERO...WINS!
LOL! Thanks for that laugh Scott - it was more than welcome!
Darn, somebody beat me to the Tron comment!
Would also be great for jogging safely at night...
...and it would be easier to play "jogger baseball"
Takes radioactive to a whole new level...
its targeted at fat ppl. Just look at the pic
Reminds me of that guy who dresses like Tron ;-)
Does it comes with a matching light cycle?
It will be super cool to show this clothes at night club!
Beside the tron fun (i love - and have to watch the movie again after years...) - is this story true? Michael
You know, Crigler-Najjar is a very real, life threatning disease. I don't appreciate the insensitive comparisons to movie and video games here. This is a product that could save some ones life. How about some respect.