In today’s world, we’re surrounded by artificial light, and the sources of these artificial lights has changed over the years.
I remember the transition from incandescent to compact fluorescent globes, and more recently to LEDs light sources. Modern lighting is much more energy efficient, doesn’t heat up anywhere near as much as incandescent globes, and last longer before needing to be replaced.
Now, most of our lighting is from LED sources – screens and smartphones, car headlights and overhead lighting in offices, clinics and shops, LED light shapes how we see and interact with our environment.
However, these everyday LED and artificial light sources emit concentrated peaks of light, particularly at 450 nm (blue light) and 590 nm (green-yellow light), very different from what we experience in daylight, and what was present in the older style incandescent globes. Though narrow in range, these wavelengths have a large impact: they can compromise visual clarity, reduce contrast, and can cause discomfort, glare sensitivity and eye fatigue. This ultimately affects performance and visual experience.
Recently our practice has gained access to, and I have trialled, the LED PRO lens, which is the world’s first patented ophthalmic lens technology engineered to deliver advanced optical performance and elevated comfort to wearers exposed to LED light.
Instead of absorbing light across the entire visible spectrum, this ingenious patented dye technology of LED PRO features high absorption peaks to counteract the emission peaks of LED light.
By absorbing these two highly disruptive wavelengths, the result for wearers is enhanced visual performance and elevated comfort across the day.
The tint is visible, but subtle, and in particular makes working with screens and driving at night much more comfortable.
This is not “just” a tint, as it is targeted to absorb and mitigate the peaks present in LED light. It is built into the material of the lens, and is available in our most frequently used lens designs, in 1.6 and 1.67 index lenses.
This can be used with a blue absorbing anti-reflection coating, to further improve comfort.
The LED Pro joins our stable of specialty tints: photochromatic tints that respond to light levels, in sun protection or fashion colours; fixed fashion tints; and specialist tints for neurological and perceptual problems.
– Daniel
