Thesis
Design of a wearable LED-based phototherapy device
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2021
- Thesis identifier
- T15780
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201575102
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- The aim of the work described in this thesis is to design a wearable phototherapy device utilising LEDs. Phototherapy is the use of light to treat medical conditions, such as, eczema, psoriasis and newborn jaundice. Treatment usually takes place in a clinical environment, but a recent focus for phototherapy is the development of at-home devices. Currently available technologies consist of rigid LED arrays; identifying the treatment regime with these devices is diffcult due to the non-uniform light distribution. A poten-tial solution to this problem is to create a flexible and conformable device that allows for uniform light distribution over the treatment area by incorporating light scattering features. Broad area LEDs (UV and blue) and blue micro-sized LEDs are utilised as the light source coupled into the end of a thin polydimethylsiloxane membrane. High refractive index nanoparticles are embedded in a substrate and used to extract light from the surface of the membrane. By changing the size of these substrates, or by changing the nanoparticle concentration inside the substrates, uniform irradiance is demonstrated over an area of 15 x 15 mm2. Though not demonstrated in this thesis, there is potential for treatment over larger areas. Colloidal quantum dots can be embedded in elastomeric materials and used to down-convert the LED light into lower energy wavelengths. This is shown with red wavelength emitting quantum dots, producing a uniform red irradiance over the substrate area. A similar technique is shown to produce multi-wavelength blue and red uniform emission over the extraction area. The output of the device can be optimised by adding flexible reflective layers to one side of the membrane. This increases the light output from the extraction substrates, whilst maintaining the device flexibility. The light output can also be increased by adding secondary embedded waveguides into the membrane. These are coupled to the micro-LED light and can potentially produce structured emission over the treatment area. The device platform is also shown to be effective as a fluorescent evanescent waveguide sensor, utilising quantum dots as the fluorescent molecules and a smart phone camera to measure the fluorescence.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Laurand, Nicolas
- Resource Type
- Note
- This thesis was previously held under moratorium from 23/03/2021 to 23/03/2022
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2021
- Former identifier
- 9912971293502996
Relations
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PDF of thesis T15780 | 2021-07-02 | Public | Download |