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22nd May 2009
Very interesting to see that the BBC have proven that bright light in the mornings helps to wake you up by dropping Melatonin levels!!  Worth watching:



17th April 2009
Well it is certainly tricky trying to keep up with things during the Winter season at Androv Medical as this is our busiest time of of the year.  We are well into preparations for all our new stocks of interesting products later this year.  Although some sides of the business are quieter, for those of us working on the packaging, design and production of new products it is still a very busy time of the year.  New EU regulations start from September 1st 2009 which will limit the supply of older style incandescent lightbulbs, so many manufacturers will have stopped production already.  This means that the newer CFL lightbulbs will become the main choice for consumers in future, and we are proud that our full spectrum bulbs are there to offer higher quality lighting choices for customers in the future.  We understand that customers have some reservations about only using CFL bulbs throughout the home, although we feel that most of the important issues have, or are being, addressed to ensure that you get all the benefits of CFL lighting with almost none of the disadvantages.  Everybody wants to save energy, and electricity is actually more expensive per unit of energy than gas or oil - so using lightbulbs which convert more than 90% of their energy into heat in your home (incandescent bulbs) is crazy enough in winter but even more bonkers in the summer!  We hope to have an article shortly outlining the issues surrounding CFL bulbs with an honest appraisal of the advantages and disadvantages.

17th September 2008
As ever we are trying to plan for the future, and it looks like over the next 12 months that more and more LED based products will begin to emerge. There are some interesting full spectrum products appearing with a CRI of 92 or higher which should produce exactly the type of light our customers love, but unfortunately these are still working out just too expensive for most users, although as with most electrical products we are hoping for price reductions for volume over time. UVB products are also proving more and more popular, and whilst in an ideal world it would not be necessary to deliberately expose yourself to UVB it is certainly very effective for psoriasis and vitiligo and if the manufacturer instructions are followed in accordance with advice from your own health advisor it would seem that the low doses of narrowband UVB are relatively safe.

11th September 2008
The busier Winter season is back again. We have our new warehouse up and running, new staff have been trained over summer, a new phone system installed and we have launched our website into France and Italy shortly. We have also installed an instant chatline system for our customers and this seems to be a great way of answering small questions quickly when online. As ever we have some new products due to launch shortly and these include full spectrum tubes in 600mm, 1200mm and 1500mm lengths, plus a waxbath for hands and feet, and some new UVB products in different sizes. As ever here at Androv Medical we are constantly battling to bring new products to the market, and at excellent prices. We sold out of some of our full spectrum lightbulbs back in November last year because sales were around 4 times higher than predicted, but feeling optimistic that we will have enough products in stock for the whole of this Winter - just as long as sales do not increase 4 times again.


25th April 2008
It was certainly a busy Winter for us, and whilst the sun is only just appearing we are already preparing hard for next September. We moved about 4 weeks ago to much larger premises, so can hold even more stocks ready for immediate despatch. We are also just awaiting a large shipment that is due here in around 7 days stocked with all our full spectrum light bulbs. We know customers have been waiting, and hopefully we should be ready to ship these by around the 5th May. New stocks include more of our 32 Watt Full Spectrum Screw E27 bulbs, and also now we will have the very popular Full Spectrum Ioniser bulbs in both 20W and also 32W version for both B22 Bayonet and E27 Screw fittings. We also have new MR16 and GU10 halogen replacement bulbs that are brighter than our previous version but still only use approx 1.5 Watts per units so are a huge saving over existing halogen bulbs. In some cases we know that customers have had problems with their transformers and these very low wattage bulbs, and the problem is simply that the bulbs do not draw enough power to activate the transformer!! They save too much power. But we will also have our own range of LED Drivers, which are transformers designed specifically to run our range of very low wattage bulbs - and these should solve the problem and produce the huge energy savings we all want. Finally we shall also have back in stock our 9 Watt full spectrum E14 candle shape bulbs. Rest assured as soon as all these products are in stock we will put them live on the website and of course email all our customers later in the month.

10th February 2008
Well I am rather shocked that it has been so long since our last entry. Winter is of course our busiest period so we have been concentrating on fulfilling customer orders during the busy period of the last 3 months. As ever here at Androv Medical we are also looking at new products to benefit customers and at this time especially interested in more UV-B products for psoriasis and vitiligo. We understand this is a slightly contentious area of product sales, and agree with most dermatology professionals that in an ideal world all UV-B treatment would be under 100% medical supervision at all times. However we appreciate that our customers live in an imperfect world, and also that in fact people are by and large very responsible with their own bodies when it comes to these matters. UV-B treatment is not completely risk free but these risks can be managed by using the latest narrowband 311nm tubes and following treatment instructions. The truth is that you can do just as much UV damage to the skin (including UVA and UVC) by staying out in natural sunlight for too long. Many psoriasis sufferers of course seek relief from their condition by using natural sunlight and we would therefore argue that UVB 311nm treatment is actually a safer alternative because you are able to follow a fixed and accurate course of treatment - ideally regulated to be just enough to relieve symptoms. With that all said we are continually looking at new products on the field and hope to introduce more products for UVB treatment in 2008.

October 13th 2007
We are pleased to as from today be offering our latest LED based bright light therapy product here at Androv Medical. Our new lightpad packs quite a punch for such a compact unit. I think it is just as well that the product includes intensity settings as I personally find it possibly too bright when on the highest setting, although of course you always have the choice to sit a little further away or not look directly into the bulbs. We had some earlier prototype models we were testing earlier this year, but the new unit we have for sale is fitted with the very brightest LED's that we could obtain on the current market. The other very useful thing about this unit is that it is small, light and therefore portable so ideal for using at home and the office, or of course for travellers who often find problems with jetlag. I have also seen some very high prices on similar units on the market, but fitted with clocks. We decided here at Androv Medical that simpler was always better, and so our units have very easy controls for timing and intensity. My 7 year old son can operate this unit easily! As ever if you are not delighted with the product it can always be returned to our UK or German offices for a full refund.

October 1st 2007
Well it is the start of another month, although the weather seems to be holding up quite nicely. I read with interest that standard incandescent light bulbs are to be phased out in the UK under a new agreement with retailers. Indeed from January 2008 it will be difficult to obtain 150 Watt standard bulbs, and by January 2009 the 100W bulbs will no longer be available. However, I can also see some comments on The Times website complaining that energy saving bulbs are not bright enough for reading and other tasks. I guess hopefully more people will discover our energy saving full spectrum bulbs and in fact see the advantages of this light for every day usage. 60 Watt bulbs will be scrapped by 2010. Amazingly we are currently hampered from bringing prices down further because the European Union has a special 66% duty on all imports of this type of bulb. It might be a great added income for the EU governments but in these times of calls for energy saving we think the governments should be taking steps to actively encourage the usage of low energy bulbs, not adding extra tax on the imports. Hopefully this extra tax will be scrapped in the next 12 months and this will lead to lower prices for everyone.

September 27th 2007
It seems like the weather is turning a bit grimmer again, although hopefully our full spectrum bulbs and lamps are helping more people to get going in the mornings. If at all possible it is better to try and get your bright light therapy first thing in the day. I am certainly NOT a morning person myself, but find a combination of strong black coffee, some nice but mellow music (currently the latest James Blunt album) and of course having my Androv full spectrum desk lamp on full power for about 30 minutes is enough to get me started. It seems that people perhaps do not realise just how bright natural sunlight is compared to standard office lighting, because outside our eyes adjust so quickly. It seems logical that the human body that has developed over thousands of years is biologically used to sunlight, and living in boxes with glass windows that filter out light might be warmer - but could be confusing our natural systems. We can prove 100% that phototherapy works for conditions such as psoriasis, and that the body is lacking natural UV-B light, but it is of course a little harder with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Then again we sell thousands of S.A.D lamps every winter and offer a 30 day no quibble returns warranty for customers, but returns are incredibly low so we know from our own sales that bright light therapy really does work for most people!

September 20th 2007
We have just got our stocks of the latest copy of "Winter Blues" by Norman E.Rosenthal M.D. who is considered the leading authority on this condition. This book is certainly an interesting read (still working through my copy) but a possible essential for anyone considering treating themselves S.A.D or Winter Blues. I think it is always useful when suffering from any illness or condition to understand as much as possible yourself, even when being treated by Doctors or experts directly.

September 19th 2007
We saw that GMTV on UK TV ran a brief morning section about SAD treatment, and this certainly seemed to make us a little busier than expected today. There was even discussions as to whether the bad summer this year may start to cause the symptoms earlier. I guess it is just a case of waiting and seeing, although once you have invested in a lightbox it would make sense to start using it as soon as possible, as long as that is convenient. This is why here at Androv Medical we consider our desklamps and floorlamps for seasonal affective disorder to be a superior solution to standard lightboxes. As you can see on our website we do still stock our own brand of Androv Lightbox at a very attractive price, but I think the desklamps and floorlamps are better with dimmer switches and full spectrum lighting. They are also less bulky so should fit easier into a home or office setting.

September 7th 2007
Business seems to be picking up already for winter which means a bit of a holiday blackout for Androv staff. Sometimes we can be 3 or 4 times busier on an average winter month compared to summer so it makes sense to take holidays when it is quiet. The exceptions to this of course is snowboarding and skiing trips, although fortunately as our head office is based in Munich and close to the Alps it is possible to go skiing for a weekend or even just for a single day. Funnily enough skiing in the mountains is an excellent source of bright light therapy in winter, and whilst we would not make any money if everybody lived in the mountains, we know that most of our customers live in darker areas and are often working behind glass in winter, so full spectrum light and full spectrum lamps can help get them through the short days. We generally recommend using our bright light therapy lamps as early as possible after waking up in the morning for about an hour. The idea is that your are aiming to get the body 100% awake first thing in the day, and that should set you up for the rest of the day. We do of course also have customers that find using the lamps in the early afternoon is also helpful in picking them during the day. We would just recommend that people do not use bright light therapy too late in the day as it is liable to upset your body clock if used late at night. Using our light therapy desklamps and floorlamps is generally no problem at any time however, because they have a dimmer switch and the head can be twisted away from the eyes, so I have one that I even use as a bedside lamp - just not on full power!

September 3rd 2007
It sounds like the exciting world of television shortly awaits Androv Medical. One of the biggest TV channels in Germany (Pro Sieben) has made a feature about our full spectrum desklamps, as they are fairly unique. They approached us, rather than the other way around which is great. It will appear on a popular science programme called Galileo, and the only problem is they don't know exactly when the feature will be airing. But hopefully we will know when the phones start ringing a little louder the next day. Full spectrum light is certainly becoming better known every year, and it is a much better light for working, reading and especially doing any tasks that need great and accurate colours. We have customers at museums, art galleries, tailors, and jewellers for example who all appreciate the benefits of full spectrum lighting. At first the whiter light can seem a little less friendly when compared to the yellow lights we are all perhaps used to at home, but once you get used to the change it can seem rather strange to be working under "yellow" lighting!

August 29th 2007
I have been looking into setting up an online live helper screen for the websites. This should be quite simple but as we operate in English, German, Swedish, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and a couple of other languages I am looking for a system that will work easily with all these. It is also made slightly more awkward as I am the only person in the office that works on an Apple Mac so there are extra software issues. Some of the latest programmes will even perform online live translations which could be potentially very useful - especially for example as we only have 1 Italian speaker in the office. I am still hunting around for the perfect system, but need to make a decision quite soon or we will never get live! Sometimes that is the biggest problem in business or in life - too many choices rather than not enough.

August 23rd 2007
We have a big shipment of two containers due very shortly. You would think this would be a simple case of just unloading with a forklift truck but the reality is a bit more like hard work usually. To make best use of a container of space most items are simply filled into a container, so at some stage they need to be unloaded onto pallets. As we only have two full time warehouse staff, when the big deliveries come it is "all hands to the deck" and the lazy office staff actually have to get their hands dirty. Sometimes the shipping agents we use do palletize goods for us, but sometimes it doesn't work that way!

August 22nd 2007
We are just updating our ebay adverts in readiness for winter. I guess as a company we have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Ebay. It is an amazing and busy place to do business, but the competition is pretty tough, although I guess that keeps us on our toes and it is always driving prices down for the consumers. The great thing about ebay is that it brings us new customers and the feedback is also an excellent and impartial way of proving our commitment to customer service. You can see hundreds of websites, with customer quotes, and we could easily add our own page with customer quotations, but there is always that nagging doubt that these are only selected comments! With ebay feedback on every order it is impossible to hide as a company.

August 19th 2007
Quick update on new products. Shortly on the website we will have LED full spectrum bulbs to replace normal 50W halogen MR16 and GU10 bulbs. These are a great energy saving product because they consume only about 1 Watt of energy compared to normal halogen bulbs that consume 20, 30 or even 50 Watts of power. Our bulbs have a CRI (Colour Rendition Index) of around 90 so produce a great white light that will show off colours much better. Plus because they are so efficient nearly all the power consumed is turned into light making the safer and less likely to create a smell of burning dust. The other amazing upside of these products is that they have an average life of around 50,000 hours. In fact it seems that the only downside for these products is for us here at Androv Medical because it is unlikely you will need to reorder these bulbs for 10 years or more. But maybe we can find something else to interest you before that date :-)

August 15th 2007
A customer asked me the other day where the name "Androv" was from and whether we are a Russian based firm. The truth is a little less exotic but harder to guess. We wanted a short and simple name for the company a few years ago in 2003, and Androv is actually formed from the name of my wife "Andrea" (my wife) and the initials of our two boys Oliver and Vincent.

August 14th 2007
The new website is just about live. These things always get really fiddly towards the end, as we test functions, and spot minor problems but it seems to be getting there. We are also just awaiting a range of new products to arrive from the factory, and as usual these will probably get delayed in customs! We obviously know the systems, rules and all the correct import duties but this still does not stop products getting stuck in the system for 7-10 days. As a company we do our best to plan ahead and our aim is to have a minimum of one month's turnover of everything in stock and on some products we keep 3-6 months of stocks in our two European warehouses. Getting our own products manufactured is the ideal solution in most cases, but involves a great deal more work, regulations, design and other issues. But generally speaking our "Androv" own brand products offer great value for money, because there is no distributor in the production chain.

August 10th 2007
Well this is our first entry in the Androv Medical Light Therapy blog. We had one last year that hit some technical issues, so are keeping this one nice and simple. As ever if you have any questions on any of the issues raised or general ongoing questions please just email us direct on sales@androv-medical.com and we will do our best to assist. As some of you can guess from the products we sell summer is a quieter time of the year for sales, but we are generally sorting out issues with regards to new products for the winter, and trying to find time to upgrade the websites, design adverts and generally plan for the coming winter months. Our current focus is on getting an upgraded website ready and finished. We quite like the design of the existing website, but regretfully we are aware that it has some occasional problems in certain browsers, and to get these fixed we really need a rebuild from scratch. We consider it more important to have a fast and well functioning website than maybe something with the latest cutting edge Flash animations. For customers as well as improved speeds, and better browser compatibility, the main new option will be the ability to set up your account for repeat orders. More on this again when I get the time!

Links to Friends of Androv Medical:

http://www.toytowngermany.com