Customize blue light protection for your patients

Ryan Parker

ATLANTA – Assess your patient’s level of risk for AMD and customize a blue light-blocking product for them, Ryan Parker, OD, said in a presentation here at SECO.

The conversation about age-related macular degeneration usually takes place when patients are in their 50s, he said. However, clinicians are seeing patients in their 40s with signs of AMD.

“Something is changing,” Parker said.

Parker pointed to increasing digital device use and the transition to compact fluorescent bulbs.

Paris Vision Institute and Essilor conducted a study to evaluate the effect of visible light on retinal cells of pig eyes, he said.

“They tried to replicate 15 to 20 years of exposure in 4 years to determine what causes damage and what doesn’t,” Parker said. “The study showed that, yes, the cells are altered and killed by visible light, specifically in the danger zone – 415 nm to 455 nm, centered at 435 nm.”

He explained that UV and blue light have similar characteristics, but UV does not cause AMD because the cornea and crystalline lens filter out 97.5% of UV radiation.

“The single biggest emitter of high-energy visible (HEV) light is the sun, and the exposure is cumulative,” Parker said. “And we have more exposure inside. We have to discuss indoor and outdoor protection.”

He addressed the effect of blue light on the sleep-wake cycle.

“When we are exposed to beneficial blue light, we have photoreceptors that don’t sense light for vision, they sense the amount of blue light we’re exposed to, and it triggers a response in the brain that triggers melatonin production,” he said. “When we’re exposed to blue light, the brain does not produce melatonin.”

BluTech lenses block 35% of blue light, Parker said.

“It blocks bad, but also beneficial blue light,” he said. “If you want to work on your computer at night and then go to sleep, this is the product. But if you wear it all day, when you should be exposed to good blue light and you are not, it messes with your sleep.

Hoya’s Recharge lenses reflect 13% of blue light using a non-glare lens with a purple-blue hue that varies throughout the day, Parker said.

He noted that the percentages the companies provide regarding the amount of blue light that is blocked are not able to be compared.

“Pick the product based on performance of other factors,” Parker said. “Does it hold up? How does it look? Can you clean it?”

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Sharper Image has TechShield; Carl Zeiss has DuraVision, he said.

“The next generation is embedded protection that doesn’t cost too much more and doesn’t look funny,” Parker said.

Essilor’s Smart Blue Filter reduces 20% of harmful blue light in the 415 nm to 455 nm range, he said.

Luzerne Optical’s TheraBlue blocks 90% at 420 nm, 40% at 430 nm and 11% at 450 nm, Parker said. Kodak’s Total Blue blocks 80% at 380 nm to 440 nm.

Transitions products activate outside and adapt to the level of blue light, Parker said.

“With Signature VII, you have 20% of indoor protection and it blocks 85% of outside harmful blue light,” he said. “Vantage or XtrActive blocks 34% of inside light. Vantage blocks over 85% of outdoor harmful blue light. XtrActive blocks 88% to 95% of outdoor harmful blue light.

“You can process your patient’s level of risk and customize a product for them,” he concluded. – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO

Reference:

Parker R. The evolution of lenses: The importance of blocking blue light. Presented at: SECO; Feb. 28-March 4, 2018; Atlanta.

Disclosure: Parker reported he is a consultant and speaker and has a relevant financial relationship with Essilor. He is a speaker for Essilor, Essilor Instruments and Shire.