Improving Color Vision with Lenses for the Colorblind
- Posted by Daniel Flück on March 29th, 2008 filed in Tools
Every person suffering from color vision deficiency has the same dream: I would like to see the world as everyone else can and I would like to be able to name colors correctly. Color correcting lenses claim to make this dream come true.
The History of Correcting Color Vision
It is said that already in 1837 a German scientist called Seebeck was writing about the possibility to correct color vision deficiency with some sort of lenses. But only in the twentieth century many people investigated and developed different types of tinted lenses and glasses which should help colorblind people to improve their vision.
Many people thought that you really can correct a color vision deficiency and turn it into normal vision. As of today it is well known, that color blindness is in most cases a genetic defect which can’t be corrected except with not yet existent genetic manipulation.
The System of Lenses Enhancing Color Perception
How does it work? It is actually very simple. You just use a tinted lens in one of your eyes, usually in your non dominant eye, and that’s it. In this case both eyes actually see different colors and because of that the brain can extract some other information out of certain colors. You can also use two different tints in each of your eyes. This depends very much on ones personal impression. But it definitely won’t work if you use the same colored lenses in both eyes.
This works for all types of color blindness (protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia) in the whole range of severities, with one exception. If you suffer from a complete color blindness (achromatopsia) there is currently no system which can give you back color vision.
The Things You Should Know about Improving Color Vision
First of all you can’t really improve color vision, you can only let’s say adjust your color sensation. The manufacturers claim that you can pass Ishihara plates tests without any errors when using such lenses. And that might be true. But this doesn’t mean that your overall color perception is enhanced. You will also loose some of your color perception in another area of the color spectrum.
Should Know
Here are some of the main handicaps when you are using tinted lenses to improve your color vision:
- The performance on Ishihara plate tests improves a lot. But in contrary there is no significant improvement in lantern tests and in color arrangement tests.
- Color perception improves in your problem area like red-green but at the expense of an increase in blue-yellow confusion.
- Most people experience difficulties in dim light or at night when wearing color correcting lenses.
- You might experience some distracting effects like lustre, fluorescence, 3-dimensional effects, judgment of distance and motion.
But most important: Don’t wear them for driving! If you come into dim light situations like a tunnel you might have some problems with judgment of distance or motion which isn’t safe for driving.
The Results of a Scientific Study about Color Correcting Lenses
In 2000 a group of four scientists of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, tested the ChromaGen contact lens system trying to find out if they can enhance color perception for colorblind people. Fourteen persons suffering from red-green color blindness were involved to test the efficacy in standard color blindness tests, and to evaluate subjective performance in the “real world” over a 2-week lens-wearing period.
Lens tints are available in seven hues (magenta, pink, violet, yellow, aqua, orange and green), and most tints are available at light, medium and dark densities. Most often the pink lens in its darkest density was felt to enhance color perception at the most. Second ranked was the magenta lens, also in the darkest density.
I already included some of the results of this study in the sections above. To me there are two more results which I would like to pass on to you. This might give you a better feeling, if such color enhancing lenses are something for you or not.
pay the price?
At the end of the two week lens-wearing period the people joining the test were asked whether they would be prepared to pay full cost of the lens, which is around $500 per lens. Only two out of 13 would be willing to meet this cost. One of them was really enthusiastic about them and the other one could use them very well on his job as a casino employee.
wear the lens?
One of the persons even returned the lenses, it was too much bother for him. The others expressed interest in wearing them on an occasional basis, maybe once or twice a week. For some of persons the disadvantages of lens wear just outweighed the benefits of them.
The Vendors of Color Correction Lenses
I suppose there are many different vendors all around the world. The following three are the most established ones:
- ColorMax from Dr. Thomas Azman who developed the ColorCorrection System, a unique system of tests and filters for a systematic approach to color vision correction. (Based in Maryland, USA)
- ColorView spectacle lenses help people with congenital red-green color deficiency to distinguish colors easier and reduce color confusion. (California, USA)
- ChromaGen is a unique product that was developed to help patients who suffer from color deficiency. This product was used in the scientific study cited above. (United Kingdom)
- Colorlite is also a leader in color vision diagnostic and correction. (Hungary)
Some products are available at certain optometrists all around the world.
Unfortunately I think that the dream of seeing colors as a colorblind person doesn’t come true. At least not with products like lenses which enhance color vision. They can get you a better color perception but I think the handicaps outweighed the benefits.
The New York Times also wrote an article about lenses which can enhance color vision at A New Technology That Colors the World (Sort of).
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:32
I am suffering from deuteranope, I have tried many methods to enhance my color vision when I am in college, including using colored lens. But actually I cannot find lens with right color to make me pass all of the Ishihara test(especially some green color related), Maybe it is because I completely lose my green sensor in my eyes.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:58
Daniel
Another excellent article about CVD. There is another company making lenses for CVD which is Colorview. The lense technology is much like Colormax. I have personally tried both Chromagen and Colorview lenses. I did have some improvement when testing them with the Ishihara test. The opthamologist with Colorview had me go outside in daylight to use the lenses and many reds that I normally could not see came into view. I did not purchase the lenses because I was more interested in passing a color vision test and felt even with the lenses I would fail. I work as as a field service engineer on diagnostic imaging equipment and have managed to be successful in that endeavor even though I have weak red colorvision. It would be nice to see colors as normal colorvision people do but unforunately the technology does not exist at this time to allow you do that.
April 6th, 2008 at 18:50
azmole, thank you very much for your comment and your nice words. - I included the vendor Colorview in the vendor list of the article.
April 6th, 2008 at 23:30
Daniel,
I recently purchased the shareware WhatColor that reads the pixel value on a PC monitor and displays the color. Very nice tool I’m asking the developer if it would be possible to write software to run on Palm OS or Windows CE which the Treo cellphone runs on. It would be nice to discreetly take a picture with your cellphone (say of some fruit in the market as in your example)then display the color with WhatColor. I know eyePilot on their website states they are working on this also but personnaly I like the features of WhatColor the best. Again thanks for work in keeping this website running.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:21
I went to Dr. Azman two years ago. I could get lenses to improve my red deficiency, but not the green. The cost then was $2500. I couldn’t justify it then.
I just called to see if there was any new technology. Of course he said yes. He also informed me that the price is now $6500! What a rip off.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:04
hi everybody..
how much does colorview glasses cost??
i couldnt afford if it’s too expensive.
could somebody tell me the exact price for a red-green colorblind like me
May 17th, 2008 at 12:15
Hi,
Is the color correct lenses works for a pilot who suffer partially colorblind?
May 17th, 2008 at 21:10
Hi butawarna
I had an eye exam for the Colorview Lenses about one year ago the price that I was quoted was $500.00 for the lenses plus you needed to buy the frames. Hope that helps.
June 13th, 2008 at 16:15
Although I am somewhat distraught with my deficiency, I would not want a permanent and irreversible treatment. I admit that I would like to be able to see colors like others do. But if the genetic manipulation was available, I would not take it. Maybe other people do not share my feelings on this but, my deficiency is part of my identity. Who I am. Hell, people know me as being color “blind”. The lenses could be neat. Only for a time. A side-note: when looking through a video camera (camcorder) I always thought there was an automatic blue-tint to the screen. To my fascination, I happened to put my other eye to the viewfinder and found it to be black and white shades. No blue. This was years after I started using camcorders. Any explanation? Thanks again.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:41
Hi,
I sent a post a while ago, but I’m not sure you got it. I am lawyer representing a color blind person, who applied for a position as a firefighter and was rejected… even after testing with colored lenses. The hearing will be held in September 2008, and I’m looking for additional information I can use.
You make reference to a study by the University of NSW, but do not say what the results were. Do you have a copy of that study?
Jeff
June 27th, 2008 at 14:10
Jeff, you can find the study at: The ChromaGen contact lens system: colour vision test results and subjective responses. Maybe it would be also interesting to have a look into the material of Arthur Pape who was a pathfinder for colorblind pilots in Australia. - I hope you will be successful at the hearing.
June 28th, 2008 at 13:10
hi i would like to know if is possible to use whatcolor (PC) or colorquest (MAC) in mobile phones whit camera ??
June 29th, 2008 at 17:05
Lamat
I recently purchased a registered copy of WhatColor and asked the developer if it would be possible to have the software run a cellphone (Palm OS or Windows CE). He stated that it would not work. You may also wish to visit EyePilot website the address can be found on this website. They state they are working on a version that would be compatiable with a cellphone but they do not offer it for sale. Perhaps if more people asked about it they would see a finacial benefit to develope the software. I think many colorblind people would be purchase a color aide software if it would work on a cellphone.
July 7th, 2008 at 19:41
Interesting article, Daniel. More or less sums up my experience with both ChromaGen and ColorView. With ChromaGen only one tinted lens is worn, this provides colour contrast but I found it distracting as I was unable to coordinate the contrasting visual data. Although I passed the Ishihara Colour Test with this system, I was still unable to name colours. The ColorView system changed the colour spectrum but at the expense of darkening the visual spectrum overall. This system was more akin to wearing sunglasses than anything else as I still was unable to identify colours confidently and still failed the colour test. I’m afraid the only hope is some kind of gene therapy. Although there must be a considerable demand for colour correction, unfortunately I think research in this field is not a high priority.
September 11th, 2008 at 19:48
Hi everyone,
Your comments on the tinted lenses confirms my own opinion on them, although it has not been possible to try them out in Sweden.
My opinion is based on my own empirical work when designing a tool that makes it possible for people having a different red-green colour vison (so called colour blind)
The tool named Seekey works. Read more about it at http://www.seekey.se
November 7th, 2008 at 21:20
Where can I find either chromagen, colormax, colorview or color lite in canada, especially eastern canada????
Thanks for your help
Pierre
December 18th, 2008 at 11:46
My own very recent experience from using red coloured glasses confirms my opinion that this is an expensive way to facilitate picking of red berries etc.
The glasses do NOT improve colour vision, but change the luminosity of colours. Red turns lighter and green turns darker. Therefore the red berries are suddenly detectable among the now darker leaves…The result is though that you will have problems with other colours than what you had without glasses.
One solution for us having this red-green problem is to use coloured filters only temporarily, in specific circumstances when you want to tell a colour or find something “invisible”. This function is also the base for my patented invention Seekey. It has a rather low price and is now used by thousands of satisfied customers. Read more at http://www.seekey.se
/Kenneth
March 4th, 2009 at 14:48
I have only read the first sentence of this article.
“Every person suffering from color vision deficiency has the same dream: I would like to see the world as everyone else can and I would like to be able to name colors correctly.”
Well I don’t, there is nothing wrong with me I am colour blind and I don’t want to be fixed, I am not ill, I do not have an illness!!!! I have never electrocuted myself, crashed a train or suffered any real loss because of my colour vision. I am different thats all, how the “normal” person sees colours is “abnormal” to me. I am proud of the fact I am colour blind, that my mother is colour blind and that her father was, and his father as well. This is a gimmick, unecessary and will make people feel they are ill when they are not.
March 4th, 2009 at 18:15
I absolutely agree with you! We have another way of seeing colours compared to many other people. But They only see a limited part of the wavelengths available. As an example, many animals see ultraviolet.
Anyway, I have found it very interesting to see things that before were invisible to me. I got an idea which has been developed into a tool that helps me to see those things. In pictures, in the nature, in textile patterns and so on. Also this tool helps me to tell some colours apart. For example: blue from lilac, pink from blue-green, green from brown etc.
The tool is called Seekey.
And I explain to people that I have a different colour vision!
March 20th, 2009 at 16:44
I could see if the lenses really worked how they would be great for safety issues. My dad was very colored blind and worked as an electrician I always worried about him mixing up the wires. It would be nice to have lenses to fix colored blindness.Thanks for the link to
Seekey
March 20th, 2009 at 18:56
Seekey is a low cost, high usability tool. There is no chance to run into unexpected difficulties as is common when using red tinted lenses permanently.
The coloured filter affects all colours. If you contuously look through a filter, you cannot be sure of what colour you look at. Bue and green all turn dark. red, brown, orange, yellow, pink turn look light. Mixed colours turn a bit dark, but as you do not know how the colour looked unfiltereds, it’s often impossible to tell the colour when using pemanent lenses/glasses.
March 25th, 2009 at 15:49
i’m from malaysian, can i know here have your branch at malaysia. Can i know where and address.
Thank you
March 25th, 2009 at 16:03
Hi Malaysia,
please explpain more what you are looking for!
March 30th, 2009 at 15:59
hi im from the philippines, been trying to look for an optometrist for colorview in asia. checked their website and found hongkong. wrote to them couple of times but they never did reply. called the japan site and they DONT know english. im a pilot with slight light red hue deficiency. lenses will be great. i bought solarchromic lens from the usa, and its ok but if theres something better, i would be interested. anyone know any hongkong contact number?
April 17th, 2009 at 21:27
I joined the Air Force Reserve last year and when I took my medical exam I turned out to be color blind. This has severely hindered my aspirations of becoming a pilot.
I feel desperate to try anything so I don’t get stuck into a dull career field. I appreciated this article and some of the comments people have made on here. I’m getting a better idea of what I’m getting myself into.
As far as yearning to see the world as other people see it, I couldn’t care less. I applaud the people on here that are proud of who they are, I’m no different. Until I was told I was deficient, I never felt it. I too am proud of who and what I am.
Unfortunately pride’s not going to get me into the seat of an F/22. Curse the way things fall sometimes.
Thanks for the article.
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:26
hi all,
is there any color vision glasses vendor in indonesia
thanks
June 10th, 2009 at 19:42
I am very interested in using colormax through dr. azman, but I don’t think I can afford it. My color deficiency is extremely mild, but shows up on the Ishihara tests. I don’t have any trouble distinguishing between red and green, or any other colors for that matter, but can’t pass those tests. I’m trying to get a job in law enforcement, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to without these lenses. What do you think?
June 11th, 2009 at 10:34
The reason for the colour vision requirements in some professions is that it is in one way or another important to be able to recognize colours.
With tinted lenses, you might pass some of the Ishihara plates, but probably not all because the tint changes all colours in one wayor another. You might manage red versus green dots. But other colour combinations will not work out with the same colour of the lens.
In a scientific study on the tool Seekey, an average of 84% of the ishihara plates were passed. This high improvement is reached when the subject use both colours of the Seekey.
June 26th, 2009 at 13:52
Thank you for such an informative piece. My brother is looking for color-corrective solutions so that he can be eligible for more jobs in the National Guard. He is considering going to Dr Azman, though the expense is quite high. Please let me know if there are other solutions he could consider.
June 26th, 2009 at 15:50
To Stephanie and her brother:
Most employers have written rules regarding vision requirements. I would suggest to start by asking for a copy of the rules. Next is to inverswtigate the possibilities to perform a colour vision test accepted by the employer. During this test, see if they allow the use of a colour vison aid. The least expensive, appr. US$ 55.-, is a Seekey. This tool will not make you a colour expert, but you will manage most everyday colour identification situations!
The Azman glasse or lenses have the disadvantage, apart from the price, that while they help identifying red colours, the impair the ability to tell certain other colours. This because you will all the time be looking at the environment through a colour filter. A colour filter affect all colours in one way or another.
June 26th, 2009 at 21:54
I have Rod Monochromacy and I have the lens, they make me see in colour, I dont know for sure if they make me see in all colour because ive never really ever seen in colour before. I dont know much but i am still learning. Im only 15 and i hate not seeing in colour, its too hard, my parents are paying alot of money to help me see like everyone else does, its so complicated.
June 26th, 2009 at 22:32
To Kenneth Allblom:
Already had asked my brother to look up the rules on the test. Definitely don’t want to spend the money for Azman glasses and then not be able to use them for testing! Thanks for the pointer to Seekey, I don’t think he has considered that option yet, which is certainly _much_ cheaper.
June 29th, 2009 at 17:21
To Aurora and everybody else: According to all competent optomedical professional knowledge there is no known way to improve the colour vision of person who see fewer colours than most people. But, when you look at things through a coloured filter (often red) the impression of all colours change. This effect makes it possible for you to see things you did not see before. And it may make it possible to tell the right colour of some things.
However, if you want to tell colours with certainty, you may not view the environment permanently through a colour filter or lens. The Seekey is a simple, inexpensive and effective tool. It has one red and one blue-green filter. When you see something that has one of the colours you often mix up, look throug the filters and see in what way the colour changes. Depending on the change, you will determine the colour. It’s quick and easy to learn, using the provided instructions.