UK exposure for UV photography

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Imaging the damage

Just like UV radiation, UV damage is invisible but it is there. Do you still have a Burton lamp in practice? have a look at one of your colleague's faces under the blue light. You will see straight away skin markings such as freckles much more clearly. Dermatologists in the US led by Professor David McDaniel have used ultraviolet (UV) photography to reveal the damage on the skin caused by the sun which is invisible under normal conditions.

An Australian group of researchers, led by Professor Minas Coroneo, has developed a method to detect precursors of ocular sun damage, using ultraviolet fluorescence photography (UVFP). The presence of areas of increased fluorescence was detected by UVFP, or presence of pinguecula was detected by standard photography. Established pingueculae, on standard photography, were seen in 10 per cent of the children studied; on UVFP, all of these pingueculae demonstrated fluorescence. In total, 32 per cent have increased fluorescence detected on UVFP, including the 30 per cent with pingueculae. Of the remaining 70 per cent, the changes were only detectable using UVFP. Fluorescence on UVFP was seen in children aged nine years and above, with prevalence increasing with age. The presence of fluorescence was 0 per cent for children aged 3-8 years, 26 per cent for those aged 9-11 and 81 per cent of those aged 12-15.