Innovative light sources for phototherapy
Author
Romano, Giovanni
Insero, Giacomo
Nonell, Santi
Fusi, Franco
Other authors
Universitat Ramon Llull. IQS
Publication date
2022ISSN
1868-503X
Abstract
The use of light for therapeutic purposes dates back to ancient Egypt, where the sun itself was an innovative source, probably used for the first time to heal skin diseases. Since then, technical innovation and advancement in medical sciences have produced newer and more sophisticated solutions for light-emitting sources and their applications in medicine. Starting from a brief historical introduction, the concept of innovation in light sources is discussed and analysed, first from a technical point of view and then in the light of their fitness to improve existing therapeutic protocols or propose new ones. If it is true that a “pure” technical advancement is a good reason for innovation, only a sub-system of those advancements is innovative for phototherapy. To illustrate this concept, the most representative examples of innovative light sources are presented and discussed, both from a technical point of view and from the perspective of their diffusion and applications in the clinical field.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
535 - Optics
615 - Pharmacology. Therapeutics. Toxicology
Keywords
Light source
Light
Phototherapy
Innovation
Photodynamic therapy
Photomedicine
Llum
Fototeràpia
Pages
p.16
Publisher
De Gruyter
Is part of
Biomolecular Concepts 2022, 13(1), 256-271
Grant agreement number
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EU/H2020/Grant agreement ID:863102
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
Rights
© L'autor/a
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/