BEATING T
PEOPLE SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS IN FRONT OF COMPUTER SCREENS. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN
THAT THIS CAN CAUSE EYE-STRAIN OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME. TO COMBAT THIS, THE EYEWEAR
INDUSTRY HAS DEVELOPED SEVERAL PRODUCTS THAT HELP BLOCK HARMFUL ‘BLUE LIGHT’ AND
PROTECT THE EYES.
by Sarah McGoldrick
clear lenses which are compatible with
all AR coatings.
For indoor wear, ideal for office workers
dealing with multiple sources of HEV
light, these lenses have cosmetic
advantages over tinted lenses.
“Many anti-blue-light coatings exhibit
a high blue reflectance, which defeats
the original anti-reflective purpose of
an AR coating,” he said. “Because they
do not depend on a coating for blue light
filtering, the CHOICE BluSelect lens
material performs the blue light filtering and the AR coating performs
its anti-reflective function without
compromise.”
“The importance of protecting our
eyes from invisible ultraviolet (UV)
rays is well known,” said Rick LeRoux,
Director of Marketing and Communications (Lens Division) for Centennial.
Visible (HEV) light, in the blue/violet
light spectrum above 400nm,”
he said.
High Energy Visible (HEV) light in
the 400nm to 420nm wavelength
range creates oxidative stress on the
retina, contributing to Age Related
Macular Degeneration (AMD) and
other injurious health effects. CHOICE
BluSelect lenses protect against UV
and HEV light to 420nm.
In addition to UV coatings and lens
materials that protect against Ultra
Violet rays, Centennial offers a blue
light filtering lens coating (CHC AR
Blocker UV), tinted indoor and
outdoor lenses (BluTech lenses) that
block UV and HEV light, and now,
CHOICE BluSelect lenses, which are
high index clear lenses with blue light
filtering built into the lens material.
“There are a number of lens and
lens coating products on the market
designed to provide additional
protection against High Energy
While the blue light inhibitor does
create a very slight greyish tint,
CHOICE BluSelect lenses, available
in 1.60 and 1.67 high index, are essentially
16 Optical Prism | November - December 2015
High Energy Visible (HEV) Blue Light
ranges from 380 to 500nm. The shorter
wavelength, Blue-Violet portion of
the spectrum poses the greatest risk
for damage to retinal cells. The lower
energy, Blue-Turquoise range of the
spectrum plays a role in memory and
cognitive functions and helps regulate
circadia