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. 2022 Feb;15(2):e202100194.
doi: 10.1002/jbio.202100194. Epub 2021 Nov 22.

Whole-organ transdermal photobiomodulation (PBM) of COVID-19: A 50-patient case study

Richard K Williams  1 , John Raimondo  2 , David Cahn  3 , Aldon Williams  4 , Daniel Schell  5
Affiliations

Whole-organ transdermal photobiomodulation (PBM) of COVID-19: A 50-patient case study

Richard K Williams et al. J Biophotonics. 2022 Feb.

Erratum in

Abstract

A nonrandomized 50-person case study of COVID-19-positive patients was conducted employing (for the first time) a regimen of whole-organ deep-tissue transdermal dynamic photobiomodulation (PBM) as a primary (or exclusive) therapeutic modality in the treatment of coronavirus. Therapy sessions comprised algorithmically alternating red (650 nm) and near-infrared (NIR; 850 nm) LEDs with an average irradiance of 11 mW/cm2 dynamically sequenced at multiple pulse frequencies. Delivered via 3D bendable polymeric pads maintaining orthogonal optical incidence to body contours over 1,000 cm2 , a single 84-minute session concurrently delivered 20 kJ to the sinuses and 15 kJ to each lung at skin temperatures below 42°C. Therapeutic outcomes observed include significant reductions in the duration and severity of disease symptoms. Acute conditions including fever, body aches (BA) and respiratory distress comprising paroxysmal coughing; lung congestion, dyspnea and hypoxia; sinus congestion; acute eye inflammation; and extreme malaise were eliminated in 41/50 patients within 4 days of commencing PBM treatments with 50/50 patients fully recovering within 3 weeks with no supplemental oxygen requirements. SpO2 concentrations improved as much as 9 points (average 2.5 points) across the entire study population. The PBM sessions required to completely resolve COVID-19 conditions appears monotonically correlated to the time-to-treatment (TTTx)-the delay between the onset of a patient's symptoms and commencing PBM therapy. In contrast, acute inflammatory symptoms were resolved within 4 days irrespective of TTTx.

Keywords: ARDS; COVID-19; SpO2; dyspnea; mitochondria; photobiomodulation; red/NIR LED; transdermal.

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Conflict of interest statement

No doctors involved in this study are shareholders, employees or paid consultants of Applied BioPhotonics Ltd. (ABP), the device manufacturer, system specifier and IP holder. No doctors received compensation from ABP to participate in this study. No patients were paid for receiving PBM therapy in this study. No patients requesting therapy were turned away from receiving treatments. LightMD Inc. is the US FDA‐registered, licensed importer and distributor of ABP products in the United States.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of anterior positioning of LED pads atop sinuses and lungs (attribution: Encyclopedia Britannica [human body])
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Patient and case study population statistics
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Histogram of number of photobiomodulation sessions performed to patient full recovery
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Observed increase in SpO2 from photobiomodulation regimen for progressive stages of COVID‐19
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Scatter plot of time‐to‐acute‐relief (TTAR) and time‐to‐full‐recovery (TTFR) vs. time‐to‐treatment (TTTx)
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Reduction of eye inflammation after two photobiomodulation sessions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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