Scientific and technical issues relating to light and lighting. The non-profit International Commission on Illumination (Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage - CIE) is dedicated to this range of topics. Prof. Dr. Manuel Spitschan took over the leadership of a newly founded technical committee within the organisation at the beginning of 2023. The head of the Assistant Professorship of Chronobiology & Health deals with the topic of "wearables for light measurement", among other things.
"Addressing the issue of light is very close to my research focus of circadian rhythms. We can design the new, emerging technology of wearable measuring devices in such a way that they can be used in the health sector, for example in a clinical context with test persons. This is a great opportunity for TUM and my research to actively shape this field and put us on the research map," explains Prof. Spitschan.
The International Commission on Illumination was founded as early as 1913 and is recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a standardization body. "The organization is the international authority on light, colour, illumination and standardization issues. Everything that goes in this direction belongs to the core tasks of the commission and accordingly has a high status in the international perception," explains Prof. Spitschan. This goes from the specification of monitors to the standardization of units, such as lux.
The idea of setting up a team that deals with light wearables has existed for years, explains the Professor of Chronobiology & Health: "We are currently in the founding phase. In our project, we will research light measurement and, among other things, we will look into questions about how we can ensure the quality of ambulatory light measurements," explains the neuroscientist.
Above all, the degree of internationalization of the team is crucial for the TU professor: "We have participants from Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia or even China. Internationalization is important for driving developments and making progress. This is an area where we want to position ourselves as TUM."
Prof. Spitschan recently published in the journal "Digital Health" on the topic of wearables for light measurement. The study was published under the title "Verification, analytical validation and clinical validation (V3) of wearable dosimeters and light loggers".
To the homepage of the Assistant Professorship of Chronobiology & Health
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Manuel Spitschan
Assistant Professorship of Chronobiology & Health
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24544
e-mail: manuel.spitschan(at)tum.de
Text: Bastian Daneyko
Photos: CIE/Andreas Heddergott/TUM