About the Institute
An independent body for the certification, review and investigation of light-based and optical therapeutics.
Initially organised in 2022, the Institute of Optical Therapeutics certifies, reviews and investigates lightwave and optical technologies designed to improve lives.
Working on behalf of manufacturers and designers, the Institute ensures and/or recommends safe operating conduct, safe product guidelines and safe recommended use for Red Light Therapy devices, “blue-blocker” glasses and related light-spectrum and photobiomodulation (PBM) technologies.
What we do
Light is increasingly used as a therapy: from red and near-infrared light aimed at the retina, to filtered eyewear intended to manage glare and circadian disruption. The pace of product launches has outrun the pace of independent scrutiny. The Institute exists to close that gap with two complementary activities:
- Certification & quality assurance. We assess submitted devices for fit-for-purpose design, verify wavelength and energy output against accepted field metrics, and audit the instructions, safeguards and dosing guidance supplied with the product.
- Evidence reviews. We publish structured, citation-backed reviews of what the peer-reviewed literature actually shows for light-based therapy across specific eye and ocular-surface conditions, written for clinicians, manufacturers and informed patients alike.
How we are positioned
The Institute is independent of any single manufacturer. We are paid to evaluate, not to endorse: a device that does not meet our safety or effectiveness thresholds does not receive certification, and our published reviews report negative and null findings as plainly as positive ones. Where the evidence is thin, we say so.
Our standard of proof
We weight randomised, sham-controlled clinical trials above open-label case series, and human data above animal and in-vitro work. Mechanistic plausibility is necessary but never sufficient: a credible biological mechanism does not, on its own, establish that a device helps patients.
Scope of technologies reviewed
- Red and near-infrared photobiomodulation (PBM) devices for ocular and retinal application (typically 600–1000 nm).
- Repeated low-level red-light (RLRL) systems studied for myopia control.
- “Blue-blocker” and spectral-filtering eyewear.
- Light-delivery instruments and their power supplies, optics and safety interlocks.
To have your device reviewed by the Institute and/or considered for certification, please visit our Contact page.