April 24, 2006
Light emitting clothes help deal with rare disease
Philomeen Engels(25), a student from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed together with Philips a luminous sleeping-bag to give people with the Crigler-Najjar-syndrome more freedom of movement.
People suffering from the rare Crigler Najjar syndrome need to be exposed to blue light for up to 12 hours a day, otherwise they might die. Philomeen Engles, a student at the Deft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed clothing that could help Crigler Najjar sufferers gain more freedom, who were previously bound to a sunbed, while still receiving the required amount of blue light. The two pieces of clothing are equipped with LED foils, developed by the photonic textiles divions of Philips, emitting blue light, while still being comfortable enough to wear.