A study of the directional response of ultraviolet radiometers: II. Implications for ultraviolet phototherapy derived from computer simulations

A theoretical model has been used to simulate irradiances for ultraviolet (UV) phototherapy cabinets and other sources. The accuracy of the simulation results has been checked by comparison with experimental measurements. The simulations have been used to study the influence of different factors on UV phototherapy exposure and to develop recommendations for the operation and calibration of phototherapy cabinets. Many radiometers used in the evaluation of skin doses have input optics with directional responses that are not proportional to the cosine of the angle of incidence for the UV radiation. Data on radiometer directional responses have been incorporated into the simulations, which show that the poor directional responses for some radiometers currently in use will give errors of 20-50% in the assessment of irradiance. The influence of lamp source geometries employed for radiometer calibration has been investigated. UV phototherapy dosimetry commonly uses a spectroradiometer and a radiometer in the transfer of irradiance calibrations from a small standard UV lamp to a large-area source with a different UV spectrum. Recommendations are given on the range of acceptability for radiometer directional responses and a method is described for determining whether these are fulfilled. Recommendations are made on the techniques that should be used for calibration. (author)