The leading, peer-reviewed journal for radiation safety, Health Physics has reviewed and published, the paper entitled Optical Safety of Comparative Theater Projectors in the recently released March, 2014 edition. The study found that ocular hazards from projectors - professional to consumer grade systems - are similar whether their illumination source is laser-based or lamp-based.
The study also points out that laser-illuminated projector emissions hold no resemblance to the optical hazards of collimated laser beams used in light shows and, therefore, laser illuminated projector standards and regulations should be similar to those for lamp-based projectors, rather than those applied to laser light shows.
The study was done to ensure that state-of-the-art laser illuminated projectors (LIPs) posed no danger to theater operators and movie-goers as they replace lamp-based systems in theaters and venues worldwide.
“Laser illuminated projectors are expected to provide many benefits to theaters operators with longer lifetimes, cooler and less-expensive operation, more uniform and brighter pictures, delivering a more enjoyable experience for movie-goers, particularly with respect to 3D films,” noted Heidi Hoffman, managing director of the Laser Illuminated Projector Association. “Similar advantages will come to large-venue operators of conference facilities, traffic control facility operators, and anywhere images are projected onto screens or surfaces.”
The co-authors, a team of radiation and laser safety experts, included Dr. David Sliney a leading medical physicist; David Schnuelle, Dolby Laboratories; Casey Stack, Laser Compliance; and Jay Parkinson, Phoenix Laser Safety. Measurements were taken of the irradiance and source size, as well as the ultraviolet and infrared emissions of the systems studied. The projectors spanned a wide variation in terms of lumen output, illumination method, and beam angles. The beams of light were measured at distances ranging from .1 to 4.0 meters and for a duration of .25 seconds.
Health Physics is the official journal of the Health Physics Society (
hps.org) and was first published in 1958. The journal’s peer-reviewed articles cover the many advances in medicinal and industry research involving radioactive materials and radiation machines for health physicists, nuclear chemists, and physicians and others with an interest in nuclear and radiological medicine and the safety of these products, to stay on the cutting edge of scientific and technological advances. To download the article, visit
http://journals.lww.com/health-physics/pages/currenttoc.aspx.
