If you are one of the 300 million people who are colorblind, these videos will inspire you! The video captures the reactions of several people able to see color for the first time, thanks to a new innovation:
Glasses that let the color blind see color
Watch people see color for the first time thanks to these high-tech glasses.
Posted by CNBC on Monday, June 20, 2016
Up to 300 million people worldwide are affected by red-green color vision deficiency, also called color blindness.
EnChroma is a U.S. -based company that has created glasses which enhance color perception by separating light into its primary spectral components before they reach the eye. Color blindness affects millions of people worldwide. It affects 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women. The condition ranges from a variety of classes, red-green color blindness being the most common.
Most people who suffer from color blindness are not blind to color, but have a reduced ability to see them. Color blindness is also called Color Vision Deficiency (CVD).
EnChroma’s story goes like this:
Great things start from small beginnings, and some begin as fortuitous ‘accidents.’ Don McPherson, who has a Ph.D in Glass Science (Alfred University), noticed certain color transformations when he wore his lab glasses, coated with a special lens formula he had invented for laser surgery eye protection.
The discovery led to a research study. Clinical trials of the early prototypes revealed that the lenses had benefits serving as an optical aid to the color blind. The research was conducted under NIH SBIR grants, with test sites allocated at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.Despite all the advancements, there was still more work that needed to be done to turn the lenses into a consumer-ready product. Don teamed up with Andrew Schmeder, who specialized in several fields including mathematics, computer model simulation and perceptual psychology. Together, they co-founded EnChroma, Inc. in 2010.
EnChroma set out on developing the prototypes into a scalable product. The first version launched in 2012, followed by innovations in creating lightweight plastic lenses, prescription lenses, and broad acceptance by professional eyecare communities in 2014.
The company offers a color test on its website.