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VSP Optics unveils blue light blocking lenses

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NEW YORK — The VSP Optics Group announced the launch of Unity BluTech lenses here at Vision Expo East.

Infused with natural melanin and ocular lens pigments, Unity BluTech lenses protect the eyes from harmful, high-energy blue light that can cause eye health problems such as age-related macular degeneration, according to a press release.

Blue light, which can penetrate into the back of the eye, is radiated by common sources such as fluorescent and CFL light bulbs and the screens of computers, tablets, smartphones and televisions, the release said.

“Imagine a plane flying at night. What do you see in the windows? You see all this glow coming from iPads, cell phones, laptops. That’s harmful blue light,” VSP Optics representative, Dave Delle Donne, told PCON in an interview. “That harmful, high energy blue light that hits the back of the eye will promote the progression of AMD. So, those individuals who may have a family history of AMD are currently at the greatest risk for experiencing [an increased] progression of their AMD from all of these blue light sources.

“Also, postcataract patients are extremely vulnerable to blue light because when you take out the cataract, you take out the body’s natural defense against harmful blue light,” Delle Donne added. “Children, too, under the age of 16 to 18 years, having not yet developed those natural defenses, are vulnerable and being exposed to more harmful blue light from various sources than ever before.”

VSP’s BluTech lenses provide superior protection while avoiding the deep amber tints and subsequent color distortions from earlier blue light-blocking lenses, according to the release.

BluTech is available in both indoor and outdoor lenses for most of the Unity line of digital single vision and progressive lenses. The indoor lenses feature only a slight tint, and the outdoor lenses are polarized with 80% light absorption, the release said.

Both lenses filter out harmful, high-energy blue light and UVA/UVB radiation while allowing innocuous, low-energy light to pass through, which preserves color and depth perception, the release said.

BluTech lenses will hit the market on March 27, according to Delle Donne.