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What has been measured

Nine areas of the body. Nine papers. Not one promise beyond them.

Most benefit pages in this industry list effects without ever saying who measured them, or on how many people. This one shows the level of evidence next to each result, and stops where the studies stop.

4 meta-analyses, the highest level of evidence cited here
820 patients in the largest, published by The Lancet
20 athletes in the smallest — we flag that too
0 of these studies were run on a Antared device

Where the research looked

The body, area by area.

Areas missing from this diagram are missing because we have no paper to attach to them, not because light stops there.

The research timeline
  1. 01

    Scalp

    Hairs counted on a tattooed area, scored blind

  2. 02

    Retina

    Visual acuity in a randomised sham-controlled trial

  3. 03

    Facial skin

    Collagen density by ultrasound, roughness by profilometry

  4. 04

    Neck

    Pain on a visual scale, 820 patients

  5. 05

    Sleep

    Serum melatonin and the Pittsburgh index

Body areas measured by the nine studies cited Schematic human figure carrying nine numbered markers: scalp, retina, facial skin, neck, sleep, arm muscle, thigh muscle, knee and cellular mechanism. Each marker corresponds to a paper detailed below. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
  1. 06

    Muscle, before exercise

    Repetitions and time to exhaustion, 13 trials

  2. 07

    Muscle, after exercise

    Creatine kinase, clear effect for localised exercise only

  3. 08

    Knee

    Pain, stiffness and function, added to exercise

  4. 09

    Mitochondrion

    Cytochrome c oxidase, nitric oxide, ATP

Nine results

What was measured, and at what level of evidence.

A meta-analysis pools several randomised trials: the strongest level cited here. A single trial on twenty people is a signal, not a proof — and it says so next to the result.

01 · Hair Randomised trial

+37 % counted hairs

42 women, 655 nm, 16 weeks, one session every other day. Photographic count on a tattooed area, scored blind. No adverse events reported.

Lanzafame RJ et al. Lasers Surg Med 2014;46(8):601–607. DOI

02 · Vision Randomised trial

Visual acuity improved in dry AMD

100 subjects, 590, 660 and 850 nm against sham, over 13 months. Note: the trial used a regulated medical device, not a home appliance.

Boyer D et al. Retina 2024;44(3):487–497. DOI

03 · Skin Randomised trial

Roughness down, collagen up

136 volunteers, 30 sessions. Collagen density by ultrasound, roughness by profilometry, photographs scored blind: all three measures improve.

Wunsch A, Matuschka K. Photomed Laser Surg 2014;32(2):93–100. DOI

04 · Pain Meta-analysis

20 mm less pain, up to 22 weeks

16 randomised trials, 820 patients with neck pain. Side effects no different from placebo. The largest body of evidence cited on this site.

Chow RT et al. The Lancet 2009;374(9705):1897–1908. DOI

05 · Sleep Small sample

Sleep score and melatonin both up

20 athletes, 14 days, 30 minutes each evening. Small sample: treat it as a signal, not as definitive proof.

Zhao J et al. J Athl Train 2012;47(6):673–678. DOI

06 · Performance Meta-analysis

More repetitions, if the light comes first

13 randomised trials. Mean gain of 5.5 repetitions and 4.1 seconds to exhaustion, obtained mainly by applying light before exercise.

Leal-Junior ECP et al. Lasers Med Sci 2015;30(2):925–939. DOI

07 · Recovery Meta-analysis

Creatine kinase better contained after exercise

14 studies on the blood marker of muscle damage. Clear effect for localised exercise, inconclusive for general exercise — a nuance most product pages leave out.

Machado AF et al. Clin J Sport Med 2020;30(3):267–274. DOI

08 · Joints Meta-analysis

Better than exercise alone, as an adjunct

10 randomised trials on knee osteoarthritis, all with good PEDro scores. The important words are as an adjunct: light adds to movement, it does not replace it.

Ahmad MA et al. Physiotherapy 2021;114:85–95. DOI

09 · Mechanism Mechanism review

The photon, nitric oxide and ATP

Review from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine (Harvard). It explains how the effect could work; it measures no clinical benefit. The detail is here.

de Freitas LF, Hamblin MR. IEEE J Sel Top Quantum Electron 2016;22(3). DOI

What we do not claim

  • Nothing about testosterone, fertility or the pineal gland. These claims circulate widely in this industry; we have no evidence of a sufficient standard to repeat them.
  • Nothing about autoimmune disease, immunity or longevity. Claiming a wellness device acts on a disease would be a therapeutic claim, which we have neither the right nor the data to make.
  • None of these studies was run on a Antared device. They concern photobiomodulation in general, with devices, doses and protocols specific to each trial.
  • Antared devices are wellness products. They do not diagnose, treat or cure any disease. If you have symptoms, an ongoing treatment or are pregnant, a healthcare professional's advice takes precedence over this page. Our method is set out in our values.

Put it into practice

The right device is the one that covers the area you are aiming at.

A knee wrap for a knee, a mask for the face, a panel for the body. The area first, the spec sheet second.

Personal · Desktop

Antared DESK

Compact 7-spectrum panel, red through near-infrared, for a daily session that sits on your desk.

€299,00 Discover

Knee · Cordless

Antared Knee

Soft knee wrap, 60 LEDs at 660 nm and 850 nm, 6000 mAh magnetic battery.

€250,00 Discover

Face · Cordless

Antared Mask

Flexible silicone mask, 288 LEDs across 4 channels including 630 nm red and 850 nm near-infrared.

€250,00 Discover
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