Might the effects of electomagnetic radiation from the incubators reported in this study (1) have been due to an improvement in energy supply/demand balance in cells? In other words might there be untapped therapeutic potential in improving energy supply/balance in patients by converting the energy within electromagnetic waves into ATP that can be used by the body?

The beneficial effects of phototherapy in neonatal jaundice, usually ascribed to an effect upon bilirubin per se, is well established. The beneficial effects might also be wholly or partly due to positive effects upon the ATP content in and deformability of erythrocytes.

It has been reported that, "The protective effect of the low power helium-neon (He-Ne) laser against the damage of human erythrocytes in whole blood [has been].. examined in a perfusion model using an artificial heart-lung machine...Preserved human whole blood was diluted and perfused in 2 closed circuits with a double roller pump. The laser irradiated one of the circuits (laser group), and none the other (control group). In the laser group, erythrocyte deformability and erythrocyte adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels were significantly higher, and free hemoglobin levels were significantly lower than those in the control group"(2).

1. carlo bellieni, maurizio acampa, marianna maffei, silvia maffei, sara perrone, iole pinto, nicola stacchini, and giuseppe buonocore Electromagnetic fields produced by incubators influence heart rate variability in newborns Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2008; 0: adc.2007.132738v2

2. Itoh T.; Murakami H.; Orihashi K.; Sueda T.; Kusumoto Y.; Kakehashi M.; Matsuura Y. Low Power Laser Protects Human Erythrocytes In an In Vitro Model of Artificial Heart-Lung Machines. Artifical Organs (Blackwell Publishing)Volume 24, Number 11, November 2000 pp. 870-873.