Study opens perspectives for OLED use in patient treatment
Light therapy is an important means of promoting the healing of wounds. Difficult and protracted healing processes of the skin, such as are due to chronic and infected wounds, present a challenge for treating physicians and can be positively affected by exposure to light. In order to be able to employ OLEDs as area light sources for potential medical applications though, any potential toxic effects caused by the constituent materials must be precluded. No such studies on what is termed the cytocompatibility of flexible OLEDs were known of to date.
Now for the first time, the cytocompatibility of flexible OLED systems has been evaluated in a pilot study. Dr. Schönfelder, head of the Medical Applications Research Group at Fraunhofer FEP, recounts: “Even after electrical operation and exposure to mechanical loading by bending, no toxic substances able to alter cells diffused from the OLEDs.”
As a follow-on, studies on the influence of OLED light were conducted using in-vitro cell cultures from the skin and the immune system suffering from specified damage. Initial results indicate effects of accelerated auto-recovery that could be the foundation for future therapeutic applications.
Division Director Christian May in looking ahead remarks: “We need long-term studies yet to be able to guaranty cytocompatibility during exposure to OLED light. Safe electrical connections, power supplies, control circuitry, and component perimeter seals are important aspects that we are dedicating ourselves to – before direct application to the patient is allowed.”
The findings will be presented by Jacqueline Hauptmann in her presentation during the 4th Industry Partners Day devoted to medical topics at the Fraunhofer FEP on September 28, 2016. They also can be reviewed in the white paper entitled „Preliminary cytocompatibility studies for encapsulated OLEDs“ at https://s.fhg.de/N8L
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