The idea is assembling a red light therapy device from cheap LED light strips. For this you need red or infrared LED light strips, highly reflective film (such as 3M Enhanced Specular Reflector film, which has 98.5% reflectivity), cloth, fabric glue, velcro hook and loop strips and needle/thread, or a sewing machine. The assembly here is inpired by prior DIY efforts from https://redlightsonthebrain.blog/ and elsewhere. The difference is this device does not require a structural frame and is rapidly reconfigurable. Thanks to Velcro strips, you use for your arm today, and for your torso tomorrow.

[BACKGROUND] Red and Infrared Light Therapy, also called Photobiomodulation (PBM Therapy) or Low Level Light/Laser Therapy (LLLT), is the application of red and near infra-red light to parts of the body. Red and infrared light seems to stimulate mitochonria to increase production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -- the energy currency of the body. The additional ATP seems to enhances bodily function, help with tissue repair, combat disease, etc. For instance, shining red light down through the skull has been shown to help Parkinson's disease patients. Besides their use in medical practise, red light devices are also available to consumers (on Amazon, Ebay and so on). These consumer-grade devices are mostly metal boxes, but also come in other form factors such as caps or face masks.

[ASSEMBLY] (1.) Cut and stitch strips of cloth to create a 3-4 cm wide strip that is as long as the LED strip. (2.) Glue the LED strip to the center of the fabric strip. This is the 'inside' face of the light strip. (3.) Still on the 'inside' of the light strip, glue or stitch the reflective film. Punch holes so LEDs can shine through. (4.) Now stitch Velcro 'loop' strips to one of the inside edges. This is now the 'inside top' of the strip. (5.) Flip the fabric strip assembly. This is the 'outside' of the light strip. (6.) On the 'outside bottom' edge (3-4 cm away from the side with the Velcro 'loop'), stitch Velcro 'hook' strips. So Velcro loops are on the 'inside top' and Velcro hooks are on the 'outside bottom'. (7.) Now the fun part - start wrapping the completed light strip from the top of the body part to be treated (such as a head, limb or torso). As you complete each turn, shift the strip slightly 'down', so that Velcro loops on the 'inside top' meet Velcro hooks on the 'outside bottom'. Continue wrapping the LED strip in a helical manner until it is used up.

Connect the strip to power and be enlightened!

[NOTES] (1.) Stiffen or shape the structure by wrapping the completed strip around plastic rods (alterate turns weave the rod inside and out). (2.) Interleave different LED strips in a double or triple helix. For instance, one LED strip could bear 660 nm red LEDs and the other could have 850 nm infrared LEDs.
-- sonam, Jun 09 2024

Research articles on red light therapy https://www.google....R+red+light+therapy
A collection of research articles on red light therapy from pubmed [sonam, Jun 09 2024]

//Red and infrared light seems to stimulate mitochonria to increase production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -- the energy currency of the body.//

So ... we're generally speeding up the metabolism?

I wonder whether anyone's sold this sort of thing as a weight-loss device. I also wonder whether anyone's thought of beaming red light at customers in restaurants or supermarkets, so that they get hungrier.
-- pertinax, Jun 09 2024


@pertinax - I didn't even think about weight loss, but apparently yes: red light therapy has been used for that.

But in serious disease (Parkinson's, say), increased mitochondrial efficiency from red light therapy helps the survival of neurons and enhances cellular functions for managing and eliminating toxic byproducts of metabolism.
-- sonam, Jun 09 2024


@a1, Heavens no! - I don't claim to be a pioneer of DIY red light devices. This assembly is inspired by prior DIY designs from redlightsonthebrain.blog and elsewhere (I've built a few devices based on those designs).

What's different in this design? It does not require a structural frame and is rapidly reconfigurable. Thanks to Velcro strips, you use for your arm today, and for your torso tomorrow.
-- sonam, Jun 09 2024


Contra [a1], I think this *is* an invention. One of the clichés of innovation is that in some way it always involves new combinations of existing things. So, "make an x out of y" can be an invention, even if both x and y are familiar things. [+]
-- pertinax, Jun 09 2024


@pertinax, thanks for the (much needed) support :-)

@a1, yes, it's similar in concept to the Walgreen's wrap. Only thinner, longer, with a reflective inside surface, and with the Velcro positioned for spiral winding rather than closure. The spiral winding is what provides emergent structure to the assembly. So one assembly can conform to a head (complete with gaps for eyes). Then it's ripped up and made to conform to an arm or torso.
-- sonam, Jun 10 2024



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