EnChroma - Bringing Color to the Color-Blind
Although the technology has been out for a few years now, awareness of EnChroma's remarkable color-blindness correcting glasses is on the rise. This is mainly thanks to a recent collaborative YouTube video by Valspar Paint and EnChroma Inc. In the testimonial video, several color-blind people are given the ability to see distinct colors for the first time in their lives; in a particularly touching scene, a father is able to see the Crayon drawings of his young child in color for the first time.
According to the How it Works section on EnChroma's website, the problem of color-blindness exists entirely in the eyes themselves. There are three types of cone cells for detecting colors in our eyes - cones which detect red light, green light, and blue light. The problem is that, in color-blind eyes, there is a bit of color overlap going on. Red cells pick up too much green light, or green cells pick up too much red light, which muddles and confuses the colors. Everyone's brain is capable of detecting colors correctly, but color-blind eyes send incorrect data to the brain!
To fix this, EnChroma developed a clever solution. In order to allow color-blind people to see more color, they developed lenses which allow less fields of light to reach the eyes. This may sound confusing, but basically, there is a certain range of red/green light which is so similar that color-blind eyes cannot differentiate the colors. EnChroma lenses effectively "drive a wedge" into this range of light, making slightly-green colors very green and slightly-red colors very red. The diagram below may make this process a bit more clear.
According to the How it Works section on EnChroma's website, the problem of color-blindness exists entirely in the eyes themselves. There are three types of cone cells for detecting colors in our eyes - cones which detect red light, green light, and blue light. The problem is that, in color-blind eyes, there is a bit of color overlap going on. Red cells pick up too much green light, or green cells pick up too much red light, which muddles and confuses the colors. Everyone's brain is capable of detecting colors correctly, but color-blind eyes send incorrect data to the brain!
To fix this, EnChroma developed a clever solution. In order to allow color-blind people to see more color, they developed lenses which allow less fields of light to reach the eyes. This may sound confusing, but basically, there is a certain range of red/green light which is so similar that color-blind eyes cannot differentiate the colors. EnChroma lenses effectively "drive a wedge" into this range of light, making slightly-green colors very green and slightly-red colors very red. The diagram below may make this process a bit more clear.
The grayed-out regions represent overlapping colors which are difficult for color-blind people to see. EnChroma lenses separate colors into distinct red, green, and blue categories without overlap!
Before you rush to EnChroma's website to buy a pair for your color-blind friends or family members, please keep in mind that the glasses will not work for everyone! Some people have so much color-overlap in their cone cells that these glasses simply cannot help them. Please take an official color-blindness test (not just the one on EnChroma's website) before committing to purchasing a pair.
That said, if it looks like EnChroma glasses may work for someone you love, definitely look into purchasing a pair! EnChroma glasses typically sell from $350 and up, so it is a bit of an investment, though it is definitely worth it to live in a world of color!
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