OREANDA-NEWS. October 29, 2015. PhotonStar LED Group Plc (AIM: PSL, "PhotonStar" or "the Group"), the British designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting solutions, has completed the full circadian lighting retrofit of a dementia care ward of a hospital in London, using PhotonStar's proprietary halcyonTM wireless lighting and control system and halcyonLIFETM LED luminaires.

The NHS project was initiated and driven by demands from senior clinical staff for a circadian lighting solution for the benefit of the elderly patients and reduced nursing costs to the hospital, but was fully justified on energy saving payback. halcyonTM wireless controls made the project affordable.

Studies have demonstrated that more natural light and dark cycles have numerous benefits including typically 25% faster recovery times, enhanced immune response, reduced dementia symptoms including at least 35% better cognitive processing speed, memory and concentration, and can eliminate night waking. This is expected to reduce hospital stay times and improve patient outcomes.

Circadian lighting mimics natural daylight in the day and creates as close to 'biological darkness' as possible at night by changing the colour and spectrum automatically throughout a 24-hour period. The project used PhotonStar's halcyonLIFETM biologically optimised light sources, which provide light that is at least 60% more effective than a conventional hospital LED light at achieving circadian levels of light, under new methods of measuring light supported by Public Health England.

The halcyonTM wireless control system reduced the necessary controls cost by 80% against a wired alternative, and will achieve project payback of less than 38 months, as compared with a wired controls system where it would be 60 months.

James McKenzie, the CEO of PhotonStar, said:

"We are delighted to be playing a major role in this innovative approach by the NHS to the care of patients with dementia. This project is a clear demonstration of the health benefits and cost effectiveness of our halcyonTM wireless lighting and control systems in both public and private environments."