Anatomical Distribution of Ultraviolet Radiation Depends on Phototherapy Unit Design and on Personal Height and Body Mass

Phototherapy using ultraviolet radiation (UVR) treatment units of various designs is common in dermatology. The anatomical distribution of UVR should be even, regardless of individual body shapes. Using electronic dosimeters, we measured the irradiance at 31 body sites on 12 persons of different hei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of translational medicine Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 66 - 80
Main Authors Wulf, Hans Christian, Philipsen, Peter A., Heydenreich, Jakob
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Jackson MDPI AG 01.01.2023
Subjects
body irradiance distribution
Body mass index
body shape
Calibration
Erythema
Light therapy
phototherapy unit
Skin
ultraviolet irradiance
UV treatment unit
UVR dose
Denmark
United States > US
Germany
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Summary:Phototherapy using ultraviolet radiation (UVR) treatment units of various designs is common in dermatology. The anatomical distribution of UVR should be even, regardless of individual body shapes. Using electronic dosimeters, we measured the irradiance at 31 body sites on 12 persons of different heights and body mass (BMI). Five different treatment unit designs were tested: cabinet units with standing patients, units with patients lying down, and a unit where patients rotated in front of flatly arranged UVR tubes. In treatment units with short tubes, persons taller than 170 cm received low irradiance on the face, neck, and shoulders. In cabinet-type units, higher BMI lowered the irradiance on the chest and belly. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of irradiance was smallest for the rotating unit, and for the unit with patients lying down while irradiated from above only. A higher RSD was found in the unit designs where patients stood inside cabinets, and where patients lay down and were simultaneously irradiated from both sides. In general, longer tubes lower the overall RSD. The irradiance of the different body areas is about 60% of the measured calibration values, but to avoid provoking any erythema, the treatment dose can only be increased by 10%.
ISSN:2673-8937
2673-8937
DOI:10.3390/ijtm3010006