How can I measure the power of curing light?
Traditionally, curing lights are measured with “calibrated” radiometers on the light intensity or power irradicance in mW/cm2 (milliwatt per square centimeter), meaning the power in mW divided by the area of the light exposure in cm2.
The radiometer, however, as “calibrated” as the manufacturers claimed, is not an accurate but a relative measurement instrument. The powers measured from radiometers are the irradiance level at the tip of a curing light, which does not indicate the power level received by composite inside a cavity. Additionally, readings from radiometers vary significantly from their actual values. For example, a light measured on Kerr LED radiometer for 800 mW/cm2 displays 1066 mW/cm2 on Cure Rite, and 1280 mW/cm2 on Radii Radiometer as demonstrated by BlueLight Analytics, who has developed a highly accurate system called MARC that measures light intensity at all distances based on NIST calibrated spectrometer.
FUSION Curing Lights are measured using both common radiometer and a precision NIST calibrated spectrometer system to ensure each production unit meets the criteria in our specifications. Because of the low dispersion from the patented FUSION lens system, you can be assured that FUSION delivers similar energy for both anterior and posterior standard restorations and more energy to bonding brackets than other LED lights on the market.