4 ms·

Someone there links to this, surprisingly affordable, product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075F7NV56 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075F7NV56

energy123 2y ago
Are there any valid safety concerns with this? Or is it just the simple check: "as long as the wattage is low enough, it's fine."
- dr_kiszonka 2y ago
  My experience with evaluating consumer medical devices ("lifestyle" and "fitness") is that what is on the box is often not what the device actually does. Besides wavelength and wattage, you would probably need to check for consistency, whether there aren't any spikes, etc. I don't know how much IR light is dangerous for the brain / what tolerances are acceptable.
- cowsaymoo 2y ago
  More is not better. Research suggests optimal mJ/c^2/s dosages for each wavelength. Stuff on amazon is not going to be calibrated at all to dosage or even wavelength. Aside from being ineffective, there aren't dangerous side effects except prolonged exposure if staring into high intensity NIR.
  - energy123 2y ago
    Can you explain more about optimal dosages and which products deliver those dosages? We get about 0.05 J/cm²/s of infrared irradiance from natural sunlight, so we'd probably want to be at that level, or above but less than an order of magnitude above it? One challenge is the irradiance drops off as a square a distance. So like 5 inch away vs 1 inch away is a difference of 25x irradiance.
- ulnarkressty 2y ago
  I would not use it without proper eye protection for that particular wavelength. Staring into an infrared light will probably negatively affect your eyesight. As the eyes cannot see it, your pupil will not react and you also can't judge how bright it is.
  - energy123 2y ago
    What about putting it to the side at a 60 degree angle?
    - itishappy 2y ago
      The FOV of your eyes is insane, you have usable retina more than 90 degrees off center. If you want to avoid illuminating your eyes, you need to avoid illuminating your face.

energy123 2y ago

Are there any valid safety concerns with this? Or is it just the simple check: "as long as the wattage is low enough, it's fine."

dr_kiszonka 2y ago
My experience with evaluating consumer medical devices ("lifestyle" and "fitness") is that what is on the box is often not what the device actually does. Besides wavelength and wattage, you would probably need to check for consistency, whether there aren't any spikes, etc. I don't know how much IR light is dangerous for the brain / what tolerances are acceptable.
cowsaymoo 2y ago
More is not better. Research suggests optimal mJ/c^2/s dosages for each wavelength. Stuff on amazon is not going to be calibrated at all to dosage or even wavelength. Aside from being ineffective, there aren't dangerous side effects except prolonged exposure if staring into high intensity NIR.
- energy123 2y ago
  Can you explain more about optimal dosages and which products deliver those dosages? We get about 0.05 J/cm²/s of infrared irradiance from natural sunlight, so we'd probably want to be at that level, or above but less than an order of magnitude above it? One challenge is the irradiance drops off as a square a distance. So like 5 inch away vs 1 inch away is a difference of 25x irradiance.
ulnarkressty 2y ago
I would not use it without proper eye protection for that particular wavelength. Staring into an infrared light will probably negatively affect your eyesight. As the eyes cannot see it, your pupil will not react and you also can't judge how bright it is.
- energy123 2y ago
  What about putting it to the side at a 60 degree angle?
  - itishappy 2y ago
    The FOV of your eyes is insane, you have usable retina more than 90 degrees off center. If you want to avoid illuminating your eyes, you need to avoid illuminating your face.