Menu
Hope you’re having a good week?
This week, you’ll hear from three of the speakers from the Innovators in Healthcare online event last month. This afternoon workshop brought together healthcare professionals and scientists to share insights from the lab and practical applications in the real world. For all the recordings and transcripts, please see here.
Lighting doesn’t replace good care – but it can help you to deliver it’
The first showcase is Kim Crowe of Parkhaven Trust near Liverpool who has seen a dramatic reduction in night-time wandering and a dramatic improvement in resident engagement during the day.
Watch Kim’s talk at the Innovators in Healthcare event here.
The transformation is challenging the assumption that older residents will fall – the leading cause of death in people over 65. But thanks to the reduction in falls at night, Kim’s staff no longer expect the worst. Her night-time teams are released from the stress of coping with emergencies to focus on making tea and toast with those residents who need attention – as Kim points out, there will always be one or two who never sleep through the night.
Kim’s close collaboration with lighting manufacturer Whitecroft was key to getting a product that combined a domestic look with the dynamic cycle of bright, cool daytime levels, soft warm evening and low night-time levels they needed to deliver the circadian effects.
The lights cost around 50% more than a ‘standard’ installation and replacements and software upgrades are an ongoing expense. But the £100,000 cost was a fraction of the overall development budget of over £5 million. As Kim found a grant to cover the capital cost, the installation didn’t cost her a penny in the end.
Now Kim’s planning a new development and the budget for circadian lighting is on the spreadsheet from day one.
No going back
Kirsten Sorensen Gosvig, a Care Home Manager from Denmark is another passionate advocate for circadian lighting. Her funding applications were turned down, so she saved up over several years by leaving gaps between one staff member leaving and another joining. She invested in the central computer system and built up the installation over time thanks to her close relationship with the team at Chromaviso who are always on hand to help. The staff noticed the difference immediately, commenting that the home is calmer at night: residents might wake and get to the door but seeing a soft, warm light, conclude that it was night-time, turn around and get back into bed. The system is fitted with a switch to boost light levels to full strength in an emergency – but it’s never been used in the five years since the system was installed.
Staff are keen to work in the part of the home that has the lighting, saying they have fewer headaches and slept better too. Residents who struggled to settle in other homes are more relaxed and engaged within weeks, with carers requesting that a patient be placed in a room with the circadian system. A lightning strike damaged the installation one night, leaving the lights on full blast. Kirsten was immediately called with complaints: the staff are not prepared to go back to ‘business as usual’.
Watch her talk at the Innovators in Healthcare event here.
Radio Sensors track the link from light to mood
Lynne Green from Kirk House in Belfast is our third inspiring example. Kate Turley of Belfast University and Lloyd Crawford of SkyJoy approached Lynne with an idea for a research project to combine AI-powered radio sensors and lighting to explore the connection between light levels and a range of measures including sleep, quality of life, mood and social isolation. Lynne noticed a significant change in the mood and behaviour of the residents following the installation, with reduced sundowning and an increase in communication. These observations were confirmed by Kate’s analysis: time in bed, mood and social engagement, measured thanks to the ability to track movement using the radio sensors all improved within the first weeks of the study, a trend that has continued over time. The research will now extend over three years to explore the impact of seasons on these effects. Lynne is clear that all residential care homes should have circadian lighting.
Watch Lynne’s and Kate’s talk at the Innovators in Healthcare event here.
The project has not only changed Lynne’s perspective at work. she’s made changes at home too.
The future is smart?
In the final final poll before our debate at Light24, it’s time to think ahead.
If, for argument’s sake, we define ‘smart’ lighting as an integrated user-centred system that delivers the right light at the right time (including daylight) while providing reliable, relevant and actionable insights to the building management team …
How far away do you think we are from the majority of owner-occupied buildings achieving this standard?
And chuffed to announce a new podcast series – Thinking Differently About Lighting
I’ve been thinking for ages about how to bridge the gap between new scientific evidence and the real world decisions that lighting professionals make every day: what would it take to risk stepping beyond the default ‘business as usual’ and think differently about lighting.
The brilliant Professor Kevin Houser generously agreed to co-curate a series of ten 20-minute episodes, each in conversation with a leading scientist in the field. We pitched the idea to the Get a Grip on Lighting team to support with production and distribution and even found a sponsor – the NASA spin-off Bios – to cover costs.
Each episode covers a key topic – visual comfort, mood, light after dark, sleep, different approaches to measurement… we’ll talk about the science but bring it back to the practical implications for design, specification, installation and regulation. I’ve just started recording this week. The first will launch on the 21st of November, then a break for Thanksgiving, then every Thursday. Will share the links and content with you here of course.
We’re already thinking about a follow-up series focusing on real world examples. I’d love to hear any ideas and suggestions – please fire them across!