How Much of Your Skin is Affected?

Skin diseases can involve just a few small patches, or for the unfortunate few, nearly the entire body. To cover this range, Solarc has developed four SolRx “Series” (each a medical device “family”), that vary predominantly in treatment area size, but also by features useful for treating commonly involved skin areas.

Within each SolRx Series are several “Models” that share the same basic construction and features, but differ in the quantity of UV bulbs (or in the case of the E-Series, the number of devices), and the wavelength of ultraviolet light they produce (UVB-Narrowband or UVB-Broadband). 

All SolRx UVB-Narrowband devices come with everything you need to start taking your treatments, including the device itself with genuine Philips /01 bulbs, patient goggles, and a comprehensive User’s Manual with detailed exposure guidelines for psoriasis, vitiligo, and eczema. 

The following diagrams and explanations will help you decide which SolRx device is best suited for treating your affected skin areas, with the blue highlights symbolizing typical skin area coverage. All SolRx devices share one common goal: to provide safe and effective UVB phototherapy in the patient’s home. 

Solarc Recommends a 6‑foot High Full Body Device:

• When there is a large percentage of affected skin,

• When there are many small lesions evenly distributed all over the body,

• When vitiligo is spreading (when the white patches are growing in size and number),

There are two different Full Body device families. The wraparound E‑Series expandable & multidirectional, and the classic 1000‑Series flat Panel.

Both of these Full Body systems rest on the floor and are fastened to the wall at the top.

When you only have to treat medium-sized areas such as your hands, feet, legs, elbows, knees, or face; and a full body device seems too big, the SolRx 500-Series is likely the best choice.

The immediate exposure area is 18″ x 13″ and the main lighting unit can be positioned to treat almost any skin area.

When you only have a few small areas to treat, or if you need to treat scalp psoriasis, the SolRx 100-Series Handheld is likely the best choice.

This powerful twin-bulb device has an exposure area that is 2.5″ x 5″ and several innovative features. And you can take it anywhere!

Psoriasis

For full body UVB-Narrowband treatment of psoriasis, the 1000‑Series 6 or 8 bulb models (1760UVB‑NB & 1780UVB‑NB) have become the most popular. Based on feedback from our after sale follow-ups, they provide reasonable treatment times (1-10 minutes per side) and work well for most patients. For full body psoriasis patients that require higher dosages, such as dark skinned people or perhaps determined by experience from the phototherapy clinic, or for those that are not concerned with price, the 10-bulb 1790UVB‑NB is the premium choice, as is the new multidirectional and expandable E-Series, which offers the very highest performance. The E‑Series is unique in its ability to start as a super-economical 6-foot, 2-bulb, 200-watt panel, and then later be expanded by adding more 2-bulb devices to eventually surround the patient and provide so-called “multidirectional” phototherapy, which has geometrically better light delivery than flat-panel type devices. We performed a comparison test between flat-panel and multidirectional units, which can be seen here.

For full body UVB-Broadband treatment of psoriasis, because UVB-Broadband treatment times are of relatively short duration, the 4-bulb 1740UVB is usually adequate (the 1740UVB was the original SolRx device from 1992). The 6-bulb 1760UVB is a good choice if you might want to later change the bulbs to UVB-Narrowband. We suggest review of Understanding Narrowband UVB Phototherapy. UVB-Broadband devices are now far less common than UVB-Narrowband devices, but are still available from Solarc on a special order basis – please contact us for further details.

The 500‑Series model selection is now dominated by the powerful 5-bulb 550UVB‑NB, especially for hand & foot treatments, because thick skin needs higher doses, and the light output is more uniform at the recommended hand & foot treatment distance of 3 inches, which is quite close to the bulbs. The 3-bulb 530UVB‑NB may be a good selection for those with less severe disease and intentions to use the device only at the spot treatment distance of 8 inches. Consider the 2-bulb 520UVB‑NB for even less demanding cases or perhaps if there is a need to economize; for example, with a total of 72 watts of bulb power, a 520UVB‑NB still has 4-times the power of the 18-watt 100‑Series Handheld.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo doses are less than those for psoriasis, so vitiligo patients can sometimes use device models with fewer bulbs, such as the E-Series Master, the 1740UVB‑NB or 1760UVB‑NB, and the 520UVB‑NB / 530UVB‑NB. However, the devices with more bulbs will always minimize total treatment time, which makes it easier to follow the treatment regimen. If vitiligo is spreading, Solarc recommends that a Full Body device be used. Vitiligo is normally not treated with UVB-Broadband.

Eczema / Atopic Dermatitis

Treatment times for eczema / atopic dermatitis are in between those for psoriasis and vitiligo, so any number of bulbs could be chosen. Devices with more bulbs will decrease treatment times and make it easier to maintain your treatment schedule. Narrowband UVB can be very effective for the treatment of eczema.