A medical breakthrough designed to wipe out head lice is on the marketing horizon. Called the LouseBuster, it was designed and tested by several people at the University of Utah. Co-inventor and lead researcher, Professor Dale Clayton, said he took interest in the head lice problem, when his own children developed head lice about ten years ago. “The over-the counter shampoos just didn’t work! I ended up using a net comb to get rid of the head lice which took many hours.” Dr. Clayton isn’t the only one to have such a frustrating experience. Studies have shown that head lice are becoming more resistant to the current chemicals that are key ingredients in the over-the counter shampoos and head lice formulas. When a child is sent home from school with a head lice infestation, it can take up to two weeks to effectively treat the infestation and clean the hair. Families with two working parents are presented with an economic hardship. Schools are also be affected by head lice outbreaks as educational funding is often based on how many children attend. These buggy problems affecting children, schools, and day-care could be wiped out in a timely manner with the LouseBuster. The LouseBuster utilizes three key factors to rid a person of head lice: low heat, a special hair lifting comb, and air, lots of dry air. Clayton recognized that small insects have trouble staying alive without moisture. Dr. Sarah Bush, Clayton’s wife and co-author on the LouseBuster paper states that “With small insects, water evaporates on their cuticle quickly.” Bush is also very sure that head lice will not be able to evolve and become resistant to the dry air technique of the LouseBuster. “It’s really hard for small insects, such as head lice, to make changes in their water physiology. We don’t think that head lice will be able to evolve so that they are resistant to the LouseBuster.” The LouseBuster’s dry air is put out by a modified dog grooming device which the team had specially engineered. The machine puts out over twice the air of a standard blow dryer. A microprocessor that is transparent to the user communicates with a temperature sensor in the hand piece to level the heat at a comfortable 59 degrees Celsius. The cylindrical hand piece, custom designed from molded plastic, rakes the hair and lifts it in relation to the blowing air so that the dry air is blown directly at the roots of the hair where head lice tend to thrive. The bugs and their eggs dry out and die. The dead eggs or nits can then be removed over one to two days with a nit comb. The dead head lice can also be removed. A big problem with head lice treatments is re-infestation and trying to get rid of all the bugs before the eggs or nits hatch and the reproductive cycle starts all over again. Clayton states that after a treatment with the LouseBuster “You’re more dealing with dirty hair, than an active infestation.” LouseBuster Research Results Reported in Pediatrics Journal An article on the LouseBuster in the November issue of Pediatrics states that “Virtually all subjects were cured of head lice when examined one week after treatment.” Clayton and his team tested six different methods of utilizing hot air to provide an effective alternative head lice treatment. The LouseBuster proto type was equipped with a computer to collect data. Although the LouseBuster uses dry air, it’s not a blow dryer and Professor Clayton warns parents against using a standard blow dryer for head lice treatment as it can easily burn a child’s scalp. The air of the LouseBuster puts out less heat than a standard blow dryer which provides effective treatment with optimum comfort. The LouseBuster has a unique hand piece with ten teeth which Clayton likens it to a “garden rake.” “When we comb, we rake down from the top of the ear while the air is blowing up over the crown of the head, in that direction. The air is blowing opposite to the raking motion and air is blowing through the lifted hair.” Getting the angles just right was the tricky part for Clayton and his team. “The hair has to be lifted in relation to the air flow to dry out the head lice and eggs. The hand piece is set at a particular angle to the hose. We kept trying different angles. It took us five years to get to the sweet spot.” In the near future, that sweet spot could provide head lice relief on a very grand scale. LouseBuster is a medical device The LouseBuster is a medical device with patents pending. The Food and Drug Administration is also in the loop with Clayton and his team hoping to receive the go ahead in about a year or so. Once approved, Clayton hopes to market the product to schools, day-care and clinics through a U spin-off company, Larada Sciences . Cost would be based on where it’s manufactured but Clayton predicts cost to be around “$1,000.00 or so.” Clayton hopes to provide training on how to use the machine “ideally through a video.” Clayton says that the LouseBuster “is not hard to use, but quite different than a blow dryer. The motion and action are different.” Randy Block, President and COO of Larada Sciences, states that “The LouseBuster is a medical device, much more sophisticated than a blow-dryer, with important safety controls that ensure the device will always perform the same. The user doesn’t have to adjust any settings or worry about temperature control. The LouseBuster provides treatment that is consistently safe and effective for everybody who is going to use it no matter where they are.” Thirty Minute Treatment Should Wipe Out a Child’s Head Lice School nurses, daycare providers, and nurses in medical clinics could be trained to use the machine for a thirty minute treatment that involves no chemicals and no opportunity for head lice to become resistant. The invention of the LouseBuster could have an especially high impact on school attendance. Clayton’s vision sees an infested child going back to class after receiving a LouseBuster treatment from the school nurse. The child could then take home a nit comb and have parents in the evening remove the dead nits and head lice. Parents do not have to leave work to take an infested child home from school. Millions of dollars spent each year on chemical shampoos, that may or may not work due to resistance problems, would no longer be washed down the drain. Treatments for head lice removal that are currently available are nit combs, over-the counter shampoos and natural alternative treatments such as olive oil and mayonnaise. When asked about alternative treatments other than the LouseBuster, Dr. Bush, also one of the directors of the Center for Alternative Strategies of Parasite Removal, still recommends the time-consuming nit comb. On olive oil and mayonnaise, Bush comments that “Natural alternative methods such as olive oil and mayonnaise have not yet been tested in any scientific way, so nobody really knows if they work or not.” Authors on the LouseBuster paper featured in the November 2006 issue of Pediatrics include: Brad Goates, Joseph Atkin, Kevin Wilding, Kurtis Birch, Michael Cottam and Professor Clayton’s wife, Dr. Sarah Bush. For more information about the LouseBuster these selected links. Pediatrics The original published research paper on the LouseBuster. Information Information and pictures of the LouseBuster |
