In vivo wound healing modulation after irradiation with a blue LED photocoagulator

A faster healing process was observed in superficial skin wounds after irradiation with a blue LED (EmoLED) photocoagulator. EmoLED is a compact handheld device, used to induce a thermal effect and thus coagulation in superficial abrasions. We present the results of an in vivo study, conducted in different mouse model, to analyze the induced wound healing. Two superficial abrasions were produced on the back of the mice: one area was treated with EmoLED (1.4 W/cm2, 30 s treatment time), while the other one was left naturally recovering. During the treatment, a temperature around 40-45°C was induced on the abrasion surface. Mice back healthy skin was used as a control. We compared the treatment in black mice, healthy albino mice, diabetic albino mice and albino mice with coagulation problem. The animals underwent a follow up study and were sacrificed at 0, 3, 6, 9, 18, 24 hours p.o. Samples from the two abraded areas were harvested and examined by histopathological and immunofluorescence analysis, SHG imaging and confocal microscopy. The aim of the study was to compare the effects in the different target groups and to investigate the early phase of the wound healing process. Our results show that the effects are comparable in all the treated groups and that the healing process appears to be faster in respect to the naturally recovered wounds. This study confirms the previous results obtained in a study on a rat model an in a study on healthy albino mice: the selective photothermal effect we used for inducing immediate coagulation in superficial wounds seems to be associated to a faster and improved healing process. © 2017 SPIE-OSA.