Dr. Harry Whelan of the Medical College of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has obtained Food and Drug Administration approval to use the LED probe for the treatment of children's brain tumors on a trial basis. Photofrin II attaches to the unwanted tissues and permeates into them, leaving the surrounding tissues unaffected. Dr. Whelan then places the new solid-state LED probe near the affected tissue to illuminate the tumor and activate the Photofrin II drug. Once activated by the light, the drug destroys the tumor's cells, leaving the normal brain tissues virtually untouched. We've used lasers too, but they are often unreliable and limited in color spectrum.
Lasers also are very expensive and lose power in their fiberoptic cables.
The feasibility of using LEDs in cancer treatment was demonstrated through a NASA Small Business Innovation Research contract managed by the Technology Transfer Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The small business, Quantum Devices, Inc., of Banreveld, Wisconsin, developed the LEDs as a light source for a chamber used by NASA to conduct plant research in space. These LEDs now form the tip of a new nine-inch neural probe. It is exciting to see how NASA's commercial space research results in benefits on Earth. Every one of our cases will be a critical case with no hopeful alternatives.