One of the questions that arises from time to time is “Do I need a dosimeter in my home system?” My answer is No, so let’s talk about it.
OK, so what’s a dosimeter you ask? UV Phototherapy systems in clinicasl use (in a clinic, hospital or doctor’s office) absolutely require some form of dosimetry. A dosimeter is a device that measures the power of the UV light output from the lamps and determines the treatment time required for that particular treatment session based on the input from the clinician.
In home use, a dosimeter can add significant cost to a phototherapy system and offer no advantage to the home user. In a clinical environment, lamps age, patients might not be using the same phototherapy booth or panel or might go to a different clinic. For these reasons it is important that the treatment dosage, usually measured in Joules or Milli-Joules is known and recorded. Then, if the patient returns to a unit where bulbs have been replaced or perhaps a different booth the last treatment energy in Joules or Milli-Joules is known and can be used to set the dosage for the next treatment.
In the home, the user uses the same machine every day and unless new lamps are installed the power output from the lamps will be essentially the same as the output two days earlier during the prior treatment and the treatment time will usually be the same. Please see my posting on treatment times for the home user <CLICK HERE>
A Joule is a measurement of ENERGY which is POWER delivered over time. OK so now it’s getting more complicated and for that I apologize. I have created a page called “Joules,
