Anonymous

[Reposted from Don's original post]First of all, we must define the terms we will all be using to describe tanning lamps. That way, we can all "sing out of the same song book" and standardize lamp terminology.1. MTI = Maximum Timer Interval. This is the maximum amount of time that the sunbed manufacturer can allow the sunbed to be used.2. MED/hour. Denotes the number of MED's per hour delivered by a given sunbed/lamp combination which we will call the "tanning system" for clarity.3. MED/minute. Calculated by dividing the MED/hour by 60.4. Time to 4.0 MED. (t-4.0) This is calculated by dividing 4.0 MED by the MED/minute value for the tanning system.(Example: 12.0/hr divided by 60 = 0.2 MED/minute. 4.0 divided by 0.2 20minutes to reach 4.0 MED.5. MTI : t-40 Ratio. MTI = 20 / t-40 = 20 which gives us a 20 : 20 Ratio. This means that the tanning system will deliver 4.0 MED's in 20 minutes. The highest allowable according to current FDA guidelines would be 20 : 18 since manufacturers are allowed a + or - 10% allowance.5. MTI : t-40 Rating. This percentage is calculated by dividing the MTI by the t-4.0. In this case, it would be 100%.6. Time to 0.75 MED(t-0.75) This value is also know as the IST (Initial Session Time) and is calculated by dividing 0.75 MED by the MED/minute.(Example: 0.75 / .2 = 4 minutes)7. Time to 1.0 MED (t-1.0) This value is known as the MTE (sb) or Minutes To Erythema (sunburn). It is calculated by dividing 1.0 MED by the MED/minute.(Example: 1.0 / .2 = 5 minutes)Therefore, in these examples we would have a lamp that would cause erythema (sunburn) in 5 minutes, the IST would be 4 minutes and the lamp would reach the maximum allowable UVR irradiation (t-4.0) in 20 minutes.All of us, over the next year, will become very familiar with these terms as they become used universally. Then, we will be able to see that one lamp in a given sunbed may yield a 20 : 24 reading and another a 20 : 20. A salon owner who has this information available can decide the optimal lamp to use in her/his tanning salon. For instance, if you had a college store (like we do) you might want the 20 : 24 lamp to have a little larger "margin of error" while in a performance oriented market you might wnat the 20 : 20 lamp. The key is for the tanning salon owner to have the information required to make an intelligent decision.In the next installment, I will cover the concept of the "tanning system" and the importance of the ballasts used.Let me know if this information is helpful and/or if I am explaining it so that all of you reading this information can understand easily understand it.Don

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donco, welcome back. We've been missing you!