Development of Flexible light emitting textiles dedicated to Photodynamic Therapy for dermatologic diseases- Actinic Keratosis – FLEXITHERALIGHT

- select the best fibers for light diffusion and transportation of light,
- analyze the requirement according to human morphology for textile structures
- produce 3D et 2D structures aible to guide the light when connected to a light source
- test the new light illumination device on patients

The proposed project aims at creation of specific flexible textile based light emitting sources in order to strongly improve the efficiency and reliability of the Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). Due to the poor quality of delivered light, lack of homogeneity and high price of those devices, the PDT is not sufficiently developed and spread. Innovation for market.

The results and prototypes obtained within the framework of this project aiming at the development and improvement of the Photo dynamic therapy are presented below:

- Light emitting fabric with a good compromise between the homogeneity of light and its intensity, which can be used in preclinical tests;
- The optical connectors between the optical fiber bundles of the light fabric and the laser light sources;
- Report on the preclinical trials carried out within the CHRU Lille;
- Clinical paper on the results obtained by photodynamic therapy based on the use of luminous textile structures.

Industrial tools and production available in France
- Number of potential users
- Possibility to save money and time for dermatologists and hospital structures:
- Development of products for other dermatology diseases:
- Ratio quality/price/concurrent product:
Various business models may be proposed, for instance the point light source may be rented and customized and flexible light emitting fabric sold at the target price less than 300 €, only one utilization.

MORDON S., COCHRANE C., LESAGE JL, KONCAR V.
A new light source for PDT – Light Emitting Fabric
33st Annual Conference of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Boston, MA, USA April 3-7, 2013.

Cédric COCHRANE, Serge R. MORDON, Jean Claude LESAGE, Vladan KONCAR
New design of textile light diffusers for photodynamic therapy
Materials Science and Engineering C - 2013, accepté le 02/12/2013, MSEC-D-12-00287R1, IF = 2.686

Actinic Keratosis (AK) are scaly or crusty growths (lesions) caused by damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays (UVR), Actinic Keratosis (AK) is also known as solar keratoses. Untreated AKs can advance to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the second most common form of skin cancer, and some experts believe they are actually the earliest stage of SCC. Up to 58 million of US citizens have actinic keratosis (AK). Treatment options include ablative (destructive) therapies such as cryosurgery, curettage with electrosurgery, and photodynamic therapy. Photodynamic therapy is well tolerated, has excellent cosmetic results, and has reported cure rates between 69 and 93 %, with fewer side effects compared to the other treatment options.
Therefore, the main challenge in order to ensure the development of such treatment is to guarantee a uniform light illumination of the skin due to the complexity of the human anatomy. We propose in this project to develop a flexible light source that would considerably improve the homogeneity of light delivery, and to develop clinical evaluation phase 1 in order to validate the efficiency of new textile based light sources. This textile solution could offer an interesting, flexible and cheap alternative as light source for PDT. Specific patterns based on different satin weaves were developed to improve light emission homogeneity and efficiency.
The aims of the present proposal are, at the clinical evaluation phase 1:
- to check the most suitable textile structures able to generate the suitable light with an optimal homogeneity over all the surface of the treated skin area,
- to evaluate the benefits of PDT with flexible light structure on AK treatment according two different protocols.
In parallel, efforts will be done to develop and optimize the textile structure, to ensure the scale up and to reduce the cost of the flexible light source in view of industrial application. Finally in case of success, the methods and the flexible light source will be tested on other applications of PDT such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC), hirsutism and acne with red light and for baby’s physiologic jaundice with blue light.