Korean researchers have just developed a flexible and portable photostimulator capable of stimulating hair growth. This new invention could allow millions of women and men suffering from alopecia to partially recover their hair.
In France, it is estimated that 10 million men and 2 million women suffer from alopecia, that is to say from a partial or total loss of hair or body hair. Being able to cause complexes and a deep discomfort, alopecia has been the subject for several years of numerous studies by scientists. All of them seek to stimulate the regrowth of hair and hair, if not to delay their fall.
A new technological feat could precisely help people suffering from alopecia to recover part of their hair. Korean researchers have indeed developed a flexible and portable photostimulator capable of stimulating the hair follicle. They deliver their results in the magazine ACS Nano.
Technology smaller than a postage stamp
Among the hitherto existing treatments against alopecia, is the irradiation of the bald area with a laser in order to cause the proliferation of hair cells. Problem: this treatment, which can be carried out in an institute or clinic, is expensive, and above all is not suitable for domestic use.
The technology developed by Prof. Keon Jae Lee and his team at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is flexible and portable. It is made up of an ultrathin array of 900 flexible vertical light-emitting diodes (μLED) in red color. The entire device fits on a chip “slightly smaller than a postage stamp” and is only 20 microns thick. It can withstand up to 10,000 flexion inflection cycles.
If this new technology is interesting, it is also because it is made up of red μLEDs which cannot heat up enough to damage human skin. They are also environmentally friendly because they use 1,000 times less energy than a traditional phototherapeutic laser.
A promising test in mice
In the lab, the researchers tested their device on the shaved backs of mice. After 20 days of once-daily treatment for 15 minutes, the mice recovered their fur much faster than shaved mice that did not receive any treatment or received minoxidil injections to promote hair growth. The mice tested with μLED also saw their hairs grow back over a larger area. Their hair was considerably longer.
If other tests are still necessary before a possible marketing authorization for humans, this device is promising and gives hope to people suffering from alopecia a home treatment, effective and inexpensive.
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