• Question: What is Narrowband ultraviolet B (UVB) light and why is it the most common form of phototherapy?

    Asked by Katie to Paul on 8 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Paul O'Mahoney

      Paul O'Mahoney answered on 8 Mar 2016:

      UVB is just a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes things like x-rays, visible light, infrared, and radio waves (they are all essentially the same thing). Along the electromagnetic spectrum the waves can be defined by their wavelength, or the amount of energy they have, have a look at this image:

      So UVB is a group of wavelengths from around 280-315 nm. It so happens that this group of wavelengths carry the right levels of energy for some phototherapy treatments.

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