What Is Phototherapy?

Phototherapy is a physical therapy technique that uses the radiation energy of light to treat diseases or for beauty purposes. It includes infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, photodynamic therapy, etc. The goal is to use the beneficial effects of light to treat diseases while minimizing adverse reactions. Phototherapy has a long history, and a brief history of modern phototherapy development is shown below.

Brief History of Modern Phototherapy Development

1893: Niles Finson described the importance of ultraviolet rays in sunlight in the article "The Effects of Sunlight on the Skin" and invented the Finson lamp, mainly used to treat lupus vulgaris and other diseases, and won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

1921: Hausser and Vhe proposed the action spectrum of erythema and melanin formation in human skin and used a mercury lamp as an artificial monochromatic light source for the first time.

1925: Goeckeniman combined the external use of crude coal tar with UV irradiation to treat psoriasis, known as the Goeckerman method.

1970: Epstcimn et al. discovered methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) combined with UVA has an early inhibitory effect on epidermal DNA synthesis.

1975: PUVA therapy appeared.

1981: The discovery that 296-313nm ultraviolet rays are an effective wavelength for treating psoriasis.

1988: Narrowband medium-wave fluorescent lamps with a peak wavelength of 311nm were used to treat psoriasis.

1997: 308nm UVB was used clinically.

In recent years, the application of 308nm UVB has grown rapidly, home phototherapy has gradually become popular, and ultraviolet LED has been used in clinical practice as a light source for phototherapy.