Blue Night

Features

The main features of the BiliLed Blue Night series are:

Highly effective

Effectively it’s all about using the lamp as phototherapy for the treatment of Crigler-Najjar Syndrome. In other words, the accumulation of un-conjugated bilirubin in the body has to be converted, under the influence of light, to water solvable particles, which the body can dispose of naturally. This therapy should take place as effectively and efficiently as possible. The effectiveness is primarily determined by the colour, intensity and distribution of light. Scientific research has shown that blue light is the most effective. The Blue Night is equipped with blue high performance high power LEDs.

Adjustable light intensity

The intensity of the light can be adjusted in small steps between 60 and 140 µW/cm²/nm. In this way the individual light needs of the patient can be met. This way, there will be no more light produced than needed. The effects of a fixed (too) high intensity can be avoided. The skin has a large impact on the effectiveness of phototherapy. However, the phototherapy has also a great influence on the skin. Not much is known about the long term effects of LED phototherapy on the skin. But some assumptions can be made. Every night the skin has an enormous amount of energy (in the form of light) to absorb. Cases of skin thickening, ageing, discolouration and increased pigmentation are common. This has, in return, unfortunately a negative impact on the efficacy of the light treatment. In order to achieve the desired reduction of the bilirubin the duration of the therapy is often extended, or the light intensity increased. For the short term this seems a good solution, but in the long run it has negative consequences for the already affected skin. It pays a high price. It only gets worse even though it needs to last a long time. Therefore it is important to be extra careful with the light intensity. In order to avoid this ugly vicious circle, in addition to good skin care, it is essential to keep the light intensity as low as possible. The Blue Night’s design allows the user to easily adjust the light intensity.

Optimum light distribution

Traditional lamps have a concentrated light distribution in the middle of the bed. For an effective therapy, it is important that the patient gets the same amount of light everywhere. Thanks to computer modelling of the optical components used, it was possible to achieve that the emitted light is distributed as evenly as possible over the entire surface of the bed. In their sleep, children tend to move all over the bed, in their unconscious attempts to avoid the light. Thanks to the flat light distribution of our lamp, the patient is receiving sufficient light, even when he/she is lying at the side of the bed.

Any size

The modular scalable approach of the lamp design makes it easily possible to produce the lamp in any size e.g. 40 x 80 cm for over a baby crib or 60 x 120 cm for a toddler bed.

Low thermal load on the surroundings

There will always be heat generated when using electronics and LEDs. The design of the lamp is aiming for the highest possible efficiency. This way there will be as little heat produced as possible. Depending on the environment, it is possible to use the lamp in a room without air conditioning.

Minimal noise

The thermal design of the lamp is such that heat developed by the LED is disposed of in the most natural way. With a few low-noise fans this heat is led away ensuring the longest possible service life of the LEDs. The speed of the fans is computer controlled, and automatically adjusted, according to the temperature of the lamp so that there is never more air flow than necessary.

Soft-start and soft-stop

Sleep can be often problematic, especially for younger CNS patients. In order not to wake a sleeping young patient, by turning the lamp on or off, the microcomputer provides a very gradual increase or decrease of light intensity. It allows the lamp to be switched on or off ‘unnoticed’.

Space-saving

CNS-phototherapy lamps are almost always used in bedrooms. These are, especially nurseries, often not too big. If a large part of the space is taken up by the lamp and its associated equipment, it will soon feel crowded. The Blue Night occupies only the area that is already occupied by a normal bed, the space underneath the bed/mattress remains completely available. The only area that is taken by the lamp is above the bed. Because this space is normally not used, the lamp doesn’t take any extra room space.

Almost invisible

The size of traditional lamps is often an eyesore to the (parents of) patients. An adorable children’s room is turned into a cramped technical area, loaded with equipment and associated structures. The Blue Night brings an end to this. Since the lamp is fully integrated into the bed, its presence is barely noticeable and the room will feel much larger. Only the observant visitor will see the control panel or led-matrix into the top of the bed.

Comfortable to use

The lamp is fixed 100 cm above the mattress. Getting in and out of bed is thus unrestricted, just like sitting in and on the bed. The bed is also freely accessible for changing the sheets. You hardly notice the lamp at all. Just jumping on the bed … that’s the only thing you can’t do.

Easy to operate

The control panel, with display and some buttons, is easily accessible from the front of the bed. The alphanumeric status display indicates the status of the lamp. With the latest OLED display technology, this window is, even in bright daylight and in the dark, easy to read. A single press of the ‘Light’ button is enough to turn the lamp on or off. With the remote control, the lamp can also be operated from the bed or from the nightstand.

Useful additional features

With the ‘Pause’ button the light can be turned off briefly. After a time, set by the user, the lamp automatically turns back on. This way, if a child is waking up, it can get a short time in the darkness to fall asleep again. Since the lamp automatically turns on again later, there is no risk that this will be forgotten. The ‘Light’ and ‘Pause’ buttons are also available on the remote control. The lamp can be operated from the bedsite table or even in a room elsewhere in the house. This way parents can use a video monitor from their living room or bed room and operate/adjust the light from a distance, if needed.

Timer

Several adjustable timers allow the user to switch the lamp at set times: on at a set time, on after a fixed duration, or off after a fixed duration.

Day-hour counter

At a single glance the display shows exactly (to a second) how long the lamp has already been on. This feature is useful in applying the required time of therapy. Before the start of the next night this counter is reset automatically. Manual reset is also possible. Even after a reset, the state of the day-hour counter can still be viewed.

Supportive treatment statistics

In order to assess the effectiveness of phototherapy and to provide information to the doctors and physicians the Blue Night collects usage data over a period of several weeks. The Status Display shows the usage over the past few days and weeks: how long the treatment took place, daily / on average, what light intensity was used and how much energy reached the body.

Sustainability

It is difficult to determine how long a product will last. In addition to the specifications of the components used, only a complex and expensive endurance test can provide greater insight into this. For a unique product like the BiliLed Blue Night this is not feasible. The main factor in life of the LEDs, is the working temperature. The thermal design of the lamp is such that it keeps the working temperature as low as possible. Due to this thoughtful design, high quality components and materials and modern techniques used, the lamp is expected to work for a long time (many years). The operating hours counter on the status display keeps accurate track of how long the LEDs have already burned.

Safety

The light emitted from the lamp only contains the specified colour blue without other harmful ingredients such as UV light. Furthermore, an important principle in the design and construction of the lamp was the safety for the user and his environment. This includes electrical insulation, temperature, radiation and touch-safety. The lamp is therefore composed of high quality components that meet strict requirements. The assembly techniques used guarantee safety.

Low-maintenance

The design of the Blue Night is aimed at minimal maintenance. The lamp is easy to keep clean so as to prevent dust build-up. This also ensures long-term efficacy of the lamp.

Low cost

The compact design and a thoughtful selection of used parts and production techniques make it possible to produce the lamp for substantially lower cost than a traditional LED lamp.

Flexible functionality

The microcomputer that controls and monitors all lamp functions allows flexibility to respond to specific needs and requirements. Additional user-specified functionality can be customised.