The Inventor Who Harnessed Light: David Schmidt and the Story Behind the X39 Patch
The Beginning: A Home Office in 2002
The story of the LifeWave X39 patch begins not in a gleaming research laboratory, but in a home office in 2002. David Schmidt — an entrepreneur and inventor with a background in energy systems and product development — had become fascinated by a question that had intrigued scientists for decades: could the body's own electromagnetic emissions be used therapeutically?
The human body constantly emits infrared light — a measurable physical fact. Every warm object emits infrared radiation, and the human body, at 37°C, emits a continuous spectrum of infrared light from every square centimetre of skin. Schmidt's insight was that this naturally emitted energy, if properly reflected back into the body at specific wavelengths, could trigger measurable biological responses.
*"What I essentially did was to use the electric and magnetic features of the body like a battery — and design a patch that could interact with that energy in a precise, targeted way."* — David Schmidt, LifeWave Founder and CEO
The Science of Photobiomodulation
The scientific field underpinning Schmidt's work is known as photobiomodulation — the use of light to modulate biological processes. The concept has a long history: the 1903 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Niels Finsen for his work using light to treat lupus vulgaris, and NASA research in the 1990s demonstrated that specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light could accelerate wound healing in astronauts.
What Schmidt developed was a non-transdermal patch — meaning it contains no drugs, chemicals, or active compounds that enter the body. Instead, the patch contains a proprietary organic crystalline matrix that, when warmed by body heat, reflects specific wavelengths of infrared light back into the skin, triggering a cascade of biological responses.
LifeWave is Founded: 2004
After two years of prototype development, Schmidt formally founded LifeWave in 2004. The company's first products were energy and performance patches, followed by patches targeting sleep, pain relief, and antioxidant support. Each product was built on the same core technology — the non-transdermal phototherapy patch — tuned to reflect different wavelengths for different biological targets.
The GHK-Cu Discovery and the X39 Patch
The key to the X39 lies in a copper peptide called GHK-Cu (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper). First identified by Dr. Loren Pickart in the early 1970s, GHK-Cu is naturally present in human plasma, saliva, and urine — and its concentration declines significantly with age, dropping by approximately 60% between the ages of 20 and 60.
Research has shown that GHK-Cu plays a remarkable range of roles: it activates stem cells, stimulates collagen and elastin synthesis, modulates inflammatory gene expression, upregulates endogenous antioxidant enzymes, and promotes nerve growth factor production. Genome-wide analysis suggests it influences the expression of over 31% of human genes.
Schmidt's research team discovered that specific wavelengths of infrared light, when reflected into the skin by the X39 patch, stimulate the body's own production of GHK-Cu. Rather than introducing GHK-Cu from an external source, the X39 prompts the body to produce more of its own.
Over 200 Patents and 20+ Years of Development
The X39 represents the culmination of more than two decades of iterative research, clinical testing, and refinement. Schmidt holds over 200 patents related to phototherapy, energy systems, and wearable technology. The core X39 patent — US10716953B1, titled *"Wearable phototherapy apparatus"* — was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and specifically describes the mechanism by which the patch elevates GHK-Cu levels and activates stem cells.
LifeWave now operates in over 100 countries. Clinical studies have documented improvements in energy levels, sleep quality, pain reduction, wound healing speed, and athletic performance in X39 users.
A Non-Drug Approach to Cellular Renewal
What makes the X39 particularly significant is what it is *not*: it contains no drugs, no hormones, no stimulants, and no chemicals of any kind. It is a general wellness patch that works entirely by interacting with the body's own light emissions and biological systems. Apply to clean, dry skin in the morning, wear for up to 12 hours, then remove and discard.