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How we test
The rig, the rubric, and an honest account of the limits of both.
IrradianceLab buys every device at retail, measures its irradiance on a documented rig at a fixed distance, and grades the clinical evidence for each claim against a four-tier rubric. Measurements not yet taken are labelled as pending; we never estimate a figure we have not measured.
The measurement rig
Irradiance is measured with a calibrated optical power meter at a fixed distance, in a darkened room, three runs per device, reported as the median. The full protocol — sensor model, aperture, distance, ambient conditions and calibration date — is published with each measurement so anyone with the same equipment can check us1.
What we do not claim
We are not an accredited photometry laboratory. Our figures are repeatable bench measurements, not certified results, and we report the spread across runs rather than a single clean number. Where a device has not been measured, the row says so. We never publish an estimate dressed as a measurement.
The evidence rubric
| Grade | Requires |
|---|---|
| Strong | Multiple controlled human trials, or a systematic review, with consistent direction of effect. |
| Moderate | Human trials exist, but the base is small, condition-specific, or inconsistently replicated. |
| Weak | Mechanistic evidence, very small studies, or extrapolation from an adjacent condition. |
| None | No credible clinical evidence located for this specific claim. |
Regulatory checks
Every advertised FDA clearance is read directly from the FDA 510(k) database rather than taken from a brand's marketing. We confirm the applicant of record, the decision date, the product code and the cleared indication, and we say so on each device entry. We publish the substance of what the record shows rather than the submission number itself. Where a clearance cannot be found, we say that too, and list the searches we ran.
Corrections
Specs, prices and regulatory status change, and we get things wrong. Every correction is logged publicly with a date and a description of what changed — see the corrections log.
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