need flexible LED array schematic for dibetes treatment

If you make them for yourself no problem.

Once you make them for other people as gifts or for sale then you need to comply with a whole lot of regulations on a federal level, Department of Health & Human Services

You are making a medical device.

The compliance paperwork will consume a medium sized forest.

Hugh

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Thanks Hugh. Yah I know, but it's a one off number for my own personal use, a work around for ripoff medical equipment prices. I'm living in the Oregon outback with the VA as my medical provider. They don't cover jack, let alone gear like this. My toes and feet are going numb and this treatment is supposed to be effective in over 90% of the cases.

Got any suggestions on where to start?

Walter

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Added crosspost to sci.electronics.design and sci.engineering lighting which might be better places than sci.electronics.equipment

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Does it definbnately need to be flexible?

Take 30mA each LED * 80 = 2.4A some sort of plug in device probably.

It`s not rocket science, circuit should be relatively simple. Will have a chew on it and hopefully others will contibute thoughts.

self-administered

Some research into accelerated wound healing as well involving IR LEDs.

Adam

In message , Adam Aglionby writes

Not just infra red. 660nm LEDs are supposed to have similar therapeutic effects. I made my brother a panel with high output 660nm reds to try on a shoulder problem and he said it was very helpful.

If you do some research you'll also find a report that NASA has developed a surgical probe that emits 660nm red for use during operations.

All very interesting, but is it just quackery or placebo effect?

If you search the 'net you'll find all manner of quacks cashing in on red LED technology, and offering grossly overpriced arrays of ordinary red LEDs in hacked torch cases. (They're particularly good on horses don't you know..... Or is it just that most people who have a horse have lots of spare cash?)

Given the massive intensity improvements on warm (635nm) red LEDs, I wonder if the old fashioned "deep red" 660nm "mega bright" LEDs will start going obsolete?

Not that I have problems with using LEDs, but what about good old fashioned tungsten. Either a common-or-garden floodlight, or a spotlight with a dichroic mirror if you don't want long-wave IR.

Thanks for the crosspost, Adam.

Probably not, but the idea is to put the LED's in contact with the skin. The standard commercial version I've seen on the website looks like the LED's have red pigmented cylindrical lenses standing about 1/8" above heavy canvas or webbing type cloth rectangles, two of which are connected together to sandwich the toes. There is a larger boot type unit which is velcroed around the foot and ankle.

With standard two wire LED's it would seem to me to be a bit of a problem to get them to sit perpendicular to the cloth without some support, perhaps in a button of silicone. Tho a circuit board is neater than having a bunch of wires on the outside, the wires could be covered by another piece of cloth.

Most LED array circuits I've seen has had the LED's wired partly in series. Can't a 30mA power source work on many LED's in parallel? The drawback to series connected LED's is the failure of one LED which makes the entire circuit go out and it's hard to find the broken LED.

Keep in mind that the therapeutic version of the array needs to be pulsed, tho I'm not sure yet at what frequency. There may also be some sort of intensity dimmer. The control unit of the medical version looks like it has a couple of knobs on it. I'm going to get a look at one at the clinic next week and note down as many details as I can. The clinic is sympathetic to my project, they are swamped and can't find a licensed physical therapist in this neck of the woods in order to expand their operations.

Yes it's a well documented for real therapy with lots of testing over a decade, not some turn of the century phlogiston thing.

Thanks for your help, Walter

It is used extensively now on stubborn bed ulcers, it really works, lots of hospital testing on wound healing. For muscle strain, that's always going to have a psychological aspect. For neuropathy, the 830nm frequency can penetrate almost a half inch of skin and muscle tissue and seems to act to cause the release of nitric oxide in the capilaries which in turn is known to aid in nerve regeneration. There have been clinical trials in neuropathy and the results are for real. MIRE therapy is a standard therapy for neuropathy. The local clinic says he sees at least partial benefit in 100% of his patients and dramatic benefit in about half., depending on how far the disease has progressed.

Walter

The LED's don't produce as much heat and can contact the skin. They can also be tuned to a particular frequency, some are better for neuropathy, some for wound healing. I was actually thinking of wrapping my feet in red mylar and putting them under a few garden spotlights...!

Walter

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Links are good

Flexible trickier.

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Flexible PCBs are used in a number of things.

series.

Current hogging, rotten negative temp co efficient, as they get hotter they get hungier so parallel LEDs need resistor per LED , series strings much the easiest way to go.

This a duty cycle thing to avoid cooking the LEDs, sure the sales literature waffles on about watts and watts of power, its pulsed and should be measured in joules , average power will be milliwatts. .

has

Discombobulator fitted to all late model medical equipment,adds an extra $2K though Possibly current or pulse width modulation of intensity.

in

Lets hear back when you know on what you know.

Again links always help., remeber NASA had some stuff on their site and various Mil sponsored projects around place.

General LED try these for starters

Adam

Good links, Adam, I'll order some LED's soon. What is the drill for making them flash? Do you need some sort of chip with a clocked switch on it?

Walter

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It's a freaking heating pad in a snake oil suit.

Cheers! Rich

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Or you could plow through 10 pages of surface mount LEDs at Mouser:

but it's still a heating blanket in a snake oil suit.

Cheers! Rich

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Medical devices have to be gov't approved. Thousands of victims could be hurt by a medical device gone bad. So buy a commercial one. The extra money you pay protects your life.

And also, selling a kit might be illegal.