Red Light Implants for Treating Degenerative Disc Disease
Red light-emitting implants for treating degenerative disc disease.
1 . A method of treating a degenerating intervertebral disc having an annulus fibrosus and a nucleus pulposus, comprising:
irradiating the intervertebral disc with an amount near infrared or red light sufficient to stimulate extracellular matrix production.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light source is a red light source.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light source is a near infrared light source.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light irradiation of cells in the disc upregulates cytochrome c oxidase activity in the cells.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light irradiates the disc in an amount of between 1 J/cm 2 and 10 J/cm 2 .
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between about 650 nm and about 1000 nm.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between 800 and 900 nm.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between 800 nm and 835 nm.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the red light is delivered through an outside surface of the annulus fibrosus.
10 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the red light is delivered through an intradiscal implant.
11 . A method of treating a degenerating intervertebral disc having an annulus fibrosus and a nucleus pulposus, comprising:
implanting a near infrared or red light source in the patient, and activating the light source to irradiate the intervertebral disc with an effective amount of red light.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light source is a red light source.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light source is a near infrared light source.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light irradiation of cells in the disc upregulates cytochrome c oxidase activity in the cells.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light irradiates the disc in an amount of between 1 J/cm 2 and 10 J/cm 2 .
16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between about 650 nm and about 1000 nm.
17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between 800 and 900 nm.
18 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between 800 nm and 835 nm.
19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the red light is delivered through an outside surface of the annulus fibrosus.
20 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the red light is delivered through an intradiscal implant.
21 . A method of treating a degenerating intervertebral disc having an annulus fibrosus and a nucleus pulposus, comprising:
activating a light emitting diode (LED) to irradiate the intervertebral disc with an amount effective near infrared or red light.
22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light source is a red light source.
23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light source is a near infrared light source.
24 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light irradiation of cells in the disc upregulates cytochrome c oxidase activity in the cells.
25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light irradiates the disc in an amount of between 1 J/cm 2 and 10 J/cm 2 .
26 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between about 650 nm and about 1000 nm.
27 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between 800 and 900 nm.
28 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the light has a wavelength of between 800 nm and 835 nm.
29 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the red light is delivered through an outside surface of the annulus fibrosus.
30 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the red light is delivered through an intradiscal implant.