Lasers and newborns

[polishedball]

Curious if there are any studies out there on infant exposure to laser light shows.

Obviously I am not gonna fire up a 7w and have scatter etc issues, but curious if a 3/4W unit should be safe for viewing with a 3 month old. Not talking about exposure, as it would be well away from beams, but more the brightness, repetitiveness, and quick flashes and changes would be ok for the eyes and brain when in a dim room.

Thoughts?

Thanks

John

[bungy]

I don't know of any studies, but I do know infants eyes (or eye-brain connections) go through a lot of development in the first couple years. I wouldn't be worried about repetitiveness, but I would be worried about brightness/quick flashes. That said, my son LOVED (and still does) lasers when he was 3ish months. I had a rotating RGB starfield generator and a low power projector (~200mW) that mesmerized him. I always used them during the daytime or in normally lit rooms. I have a 900mW that I use in the living room and he's over a year old now, but I still keep the intense flashes to a minimum, usually just playing some mellow abstracts for him.

[colouredmirrorball]

I think the effects of a laser projector can be compared to the ones from a television. Experts advice to not let a small child watch too much tv in their first years, and for safety I'd treat a laser projector in the same way. But that entirely depends on the situation. I can't imagine a slow moving, non-flickering abstract, lumia, rotating grating patterns etc. are as bad as a common cartoon show.