Philips will launch HealWell, a lighting solution for hospitals designed to help care providers enhance the healing environment in patient rooms, at Arab Health 2012.

HealWell combines the positive, regulating biological effects of light with the creation of a pleasant atmosphere for patients, a statement from the company said.

In a field study conducted with Maastricht University Medical Center in The Netherlands, the light has been shown to enhance patients’ sleep duration and reduce the time needed to fall asleep during hospital stays.

Paolo Cervini, general manager of Philips Lighting, Middle East and Turkey, said: “HealWell is focused on helping hospitals enhance the healing environment for their patients. It has thus been based on patient and staff evaluations, and research that validates its effects on health and well-being.”

Existing scientific research has shown that high light levels during the day help to regulate the human biological clock and sleep wake rhythm, the statement said.

HealWell re-creates the benefits of natural daylight to regulate patients’ sleep and improve well-being to support the recovery process. It provides gradually varying light levels during the day, as if on a sunny day outside. It also offers ambient lighting that can be controlled by the patient to create a pleasantly-lit environment, while providing good quality working light for staff.

The field study conducted with Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC) in The Netherlands confirmed that HealWell has a positive impact on the healing environment.

A study of the effects of the light was conducted with 200 patients in the cardiology department of the MUMC in cooperation with the Clinical Trial Center Maastricht over a 9-month period, which showed a statistically significant improvement of patients’ sleep duration and a reduction of time needed to fall asleep (sleep onset latency).

Moreover, patient and staff satisfaction improved with the HealWell lighting solution, when compared with rooms equipped with existing lighting solutions, it said.

Dr Petra Kuijpers, cardiologist at the Maastricht University Medical Center, said: “The use of lighting to improve patients’ health and well-being is a new area of research but a more attractive environment definitely helps patients feel better. Mental state is an important factor affecting the prognosis in cardiac patients, and light could have a positive influence on this and the patient’s health in the long run, although this is an area that requires further investigation.”

“The positive outcome of the clinical validation study demonstrates the value of Philips’ HealWell solution in helping hospitals to enhance the healing environment and support its patients’ recovery,” he said.

Creating a positive healing environment is of increasing importance for healthcare facilities, offering spaces for patients that are designed to be nurturing, therapeutic and to reduce the stress of hospitalisation. – TradeArabia News Service