EnChroma unveiled their first line of advanced optic sunglasses for the enhancement of color vision. More than 10 million Americans that live with red/green color vision deficiency (CVD), commonly known as “red/green color blindness,” will soon be able to experience Better Color Vision.
EnChroma’s revolutionary sunglasses feature an advanced optical coating that selectively filters wavelengths of light responsible for color confusion. The result is a significant improvement in the signal to noise ratio in the chromatic channels and a breathtaking increase in the variety and purity of colors.
The company emerged out of an NIH SBIR grant designed to study the feasibility of enhancing color vision in humans, particularly among the color blind/color vision deficient.
The first to be released in their line will be the Cx Series, to improve color vision for people with normal vision and those with protanomalous and deuteranomalous CVD (red/green color blindness). The Cx Series will include the following models available in both Rx and zero-power lens:
- EnChroma Cx: Super Color Enhancing Lens - This lens is suitable for general use, and is designed to enhance the vividness and intensity of color for individuals with normal color vision.
- EnChroma Cx-D: Optical Aid for Deuteranomalous Color Vision Deficiency – The EnChroma Cx-D is a Super Color Enhancing (SCE) lens that is specially designed for use by individuals with deuteranomaly, assisting wearers with differentiating commonly confused colors.
- EnChroma Cx-PT: Optical Aid for Protanomalous Color Vision Deficiency – The EnChroma Cx-PT is a Super Color Enhancing (SCE) lens that is specially designed for use by individuals with protanomaly, assisting wearers with decreased red sensitivity commonly found with this deficiency.
The EnChroma Cx series feature precision optical coatings made of ultra-durable metal oxides on a lightweight (less than 30g including frames) 1.3mm glass lens. These 100 percent UV blocking sunglasses are available in prescription and ordinary zero-power ANSI Z80.3 compliant sunglass lenses. The various models in the EnChroma Cx series will be available in a variety of styles for men and women, with a children’s specific line to follow.
Additional Facts about Color Deficiency:
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One in 12 men have some sort of color deficiency.
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Color deficiency is more prevalent among males (8 percent) than females (0.4 percent), because the most common form of color vision deficiency is encoded on the X chromosome.
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Strongly color blind people might only be able to differentiate 25,000 hues whereas a person with normal color vision is able to distinguish more than 1 million different hues.
