EnChroma® Glasses for Color Blindness Expands Locations in Europe

At MIDO, Pavilion 6 Stand E06, EnChroma, Inc. will demonstrate its cutting-edge glasses for color blindness that will soon be available at Authorized EnChroma Retailers throughout Europe. Invented in 2010, EnChroma® lenses enable red-green color blind people to see a broader range of clear, vibrant color.

“Color blind people have been asking for us to add locations in Europe so they can physically try EnChroma glasses and experience an expanded spectrum of color,” said Mark Mattison-Shupnick, Vice President of Business Development for EnChroma. “Our expansion into Europe gives vision professionals the unique opportunity to provide our innovative lens technology to their color blind patients, while helping them generate new revenue streams. We look forward to meeting with eyecare professionals at MIDO to discuss the opportunity to join our growing network of retailers in Europe and better serve their patients.”

Color blindness affects one in 12 men (8%), and one in 200 women (.5%) – roughly 300 million worldwide and an estimated 30 million in Europe. EnChroma already has three European pilot locations in Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and inquiries from thousands of other eyecare professionals interested in offering its lens technology.

“Carrying EnChroma glasses has made us aware of the frustrations and challenges our color blind patients experience, and how to help them overcome their everyday struggles through this special technology,” said Iris Verstappen, owner of Unique Optiek & Optometrie in the Netherlands. “EnChroma has proven to be a supportive partner that is making a positive impression on our patients and our business.”

“Eyecare providers have long been frustrated by the lack of science-based products to help their color blind patients,” said Andrew Schmeder, CEO and Co-founder of EnChroma. “Building upon the success of our extensive retail networks in the U.S. and Canada, we are excited to expand our ability to reach people around the globe. The opportunity to try the glasses in person and get a professional fitting from a trained eye care professional is a unique value-added service that cannot be replicated through e-commerce.”

EnChroma also announced that its next generation of six lens types, specially engineered to address specific types and severities of red-green color blindness in a broad range of lighting conditions, will be available to Authorized EnChroma Retailers in mid-April 2019, in Plano and prescription.

At MIDO, in Pavilion 6 Stand E06, EnChroma will be available to:

  • Educate vision professionals about how EnChroma glasses work
  • Showcase our new line of lenses and Demonstration Kit (available to eyecare professionals only)
  • Demonstrate our color blindness simulator, which enables non-color blind guests to experience what it’s like to be color blind
  • Provide an opportunity to take EnChroma’s #1 leading online Color Vision Test
  • Four color blind people will experience EnChroma glasses for the first time at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 23 at Pavilion 6 Stand E06, and be available for media interviews

Approved Authorized EnChroma Retailers will receive an EnChroma Demonstration Kit to guide patients to find the lens that works best for them. A new and improved online EnChroma Color Blind Screening Test will help eyecare professionals quickly identify a patient’s type and extent of color blindness. Special optical filters in EnChroma lenses precisely remove wavelengths of light from the visible spectrum where the red and green cone cells overlap, restoring and enhancing the separation between color channels. This affords the color blind access to more of life’s colorful moments. EnChroma lenses can be made with a patient’s prescription for other vision needs.

MIDO is the world’s largest international trade show for optics, optometry, and ophthalmology for vendors, buyers and optical industry professionals attended by nearly 60,000 people. The trade fair takes place February 23-25, 2019 at Fiera Milano Rho at Via Alberto Riva Villasanta 3 in Milan, Italy.

About EnChroma

EnChroma, Inc. develops lens technologies and high-performance eyewear for color blindness. Co-founded by a Ph.D. glass scientist and UC Berkeley educated mathematician, EnChroma invented award-winning glasses for color blindness that combine the latest in color perception neuroscience and lens innovation to enable access to color for all. Based in Berkeley, California, EnChroma received a SBIR grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and earned the 2016 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration in recognition of the firm’s innovative impact on the human experience through technology. EnChroma also received the 2017 Beacons of the Photonics Industry Award from Photonics Media. For more information please call 510-497-0048 or visit EnChroma.com.