LLLT Safety Part II - Addressing EMF fields!

By OverMachoGrande
Jul 06, 2008

I completely forgot about addressing this before in the other safety post!  It was a question that we addressed last year because YES… it seems that IN THEORY that all of these diodes could generate an extremely unsafe electo-magnetic field, and this might not be the best thing if we are wearing them around on our heads!

Here is the question from EIC on my LLLT safety thread at the laser forum:

“The timing of this thread is uncanny, as I’ve been thinking about the safety issue myself quite a bit recently.  It seems to me that the danger many not come from the lasers themselves, but rather from the electromagnetic field (EMF) that is generated by having so many lasers so close to one’s head.  There is a serious electrical current by so many lasers and those currents can generate considerable EMFs.  EMFs have been associated with a cancer risk, at least theoretically. 

I think we ought to look at the risks of having such an electrical device directly on one’s head as opposed to the danger from the lasers themselves.  I do not know enough about such things, but thought I would bring the topic up.  I would hate for us to wear these devices week after week for decades, only to find that we gave ourselves brain cancer by doing so.”

...And this is a great example of how sometimes our theoretical concerns end up not being a concern at all! lol… so, yep, here’s the scoop, and I’m literally touching my EMF meter to the wires and diodes:

0.0, and somewhat common bursts of 0.1 (Gauss), which is right at the baseline reading of my home (away from the fuse box, of course).  I don’t think I ever got over a 0.2, even when I was moving it around (the EMF is prone to show a false spike if you move it too quickly).  Even after it was on a little while, it was still 0.0 with only the occasional spike of 0.1!  So basically… in terms of EMF, cancer, etc., I’d feel confident in saying that you are as safe walking around with this on your head as you are walking around your home.

I want to stress that my wiring job would probably be considered a hella poor one by the pros in regards to shielding since I’m only using electrical tape.  What does that mean?  That means if these diodes gave off any sort of a potential problematic EMF field, we’d know it… it’d be leaking out everywhere!  But they don’t… at all!  Any way you slice and dice it, these things are safe, man!

Now, the ADAPTER is a little different… it will flux all around from about as low as a 0.2 or 0.3, and will climb as much to about a 1.0 (but no higher) depending on which area you hold it over (near the plug or not).  That’s still very low, but regardless of what it is… that’s not on your head, and doesn’t have to even be close to your body.  Pull the EMF meter literally only a couple of inches back, and it will dissipate completely.

Oh, in case you’re interested… my fuse box ranges from about 16 to 40!  lol… most do, and mine might even be on the low side.  I’ve seen some that go to 200 (in locations that are alleged to have paranormal activity… that much EMF can trick your mind).

-O.M.G.