The "melanopic eye" wearable for healthy light exposure
Project overview
There’s healthy light and unhealthy light.
Healthy light is from the natural world, where darkness falls at night, as it’s done since the beginning of human life on Earth, and the sunlight begins again in the morning.
Unhealthy light is artificial, especially at night, and particularly before bed, whether it’s bright home lights or screens.
Unhealthy light behaviour can result in chronic conditions such as liver disease, depression, hypertension and cardiovascular problems, impaired muscle function, poor sleep, and insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.
A wearable sensor has been developed to record the impact of artificial light on our bodies to prevent chronic disease. The sensor will highlight the impact of different lights on the body sending feedback to a smartphone. The sensor will be integrated with home smart lighting systems to deliver individualised control of light delivery.
It will be a powerful clinical tool that will reduce chronic disease.
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Project team
- A/Prof. Sean Cain (Monash University; Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences)
- Prof. Jon McCormack (Monash University; Faculty of Information Technology)
- Dr. Andrew Phillips (Monash University; Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences)
- Dr. Rowan Page (Monash University; Art, Design and Architecture)
Return on investment
In 2024 IP licensed to Circadian Health Innovations and received support and investment from an external investor group for nearly $450,000.
