Health and hygiene company RayVio Corp of Haywood, CA, USA, which is commercializing deep-ultraviolet (UV) LEDs and consumer disinfection solutions, is expanding a research program with Boston University to develop new treatments for vitamin D deficiency (a disorder associated with osteoporosis, rickets and other metabolic bone diseases). Led by Dr Michael F. Holick, the research will expose various skin samples to UV light generated by RayVio's LEDs to determine appropriate exposure times and intensity that can be effectively and safely used to treat vitamin D deficiency disorders.
"Vitamin D deficiency affects more than 100 million Americans and over a billion people worldwide," notes Dr Michael F. Holick Ph.D., M.D., professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine, an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center and lead researcher on the study. "Finding a solution will reduce the onset of catastrophic illnesses and potentially saves hundreds of thousands of lives," he adds.
"Our previous work with RayVio demonstrated that very low-intensity UV light from LEDs – the kind that might be incorporated into today's wearable technologies – will boost vitamin D production in skin and can improve peoples' health," continues Holick. "Our new program expands on that work to determine the best wavelength of light, appropriate duration and intensity that will optimize new and more effective treatments."
Vitamin D deficiency leads to debilitating diseases like osteoporosis, rickets and even increases the risk of developing common deadly cancers, diabetes, autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and heart disease. Studies have also shown links between vitamin D deficiency and brain disorders including and Alzheimer's disease, depression and schizophrenia.
"At RayVio, we can produce LEDs targeted to specific wavelengths, and working with Dr Holick and his team will allow us to mass produce LEDs that provide the optimum UV light and intensity to address vitamin D deficiency," says RayVio's CEO Robert C. Walker Ph.D.
In addition to the joint research project with Holick, RayVio's latest deep UV LEDs are being applied to disinfection and water purification applications that have the potential to reduce hospital-acquired infections and illnesses that result from drinking unsafe water.
