The O2Amp amplifies perception of emotions, moods and health. Really.
One of the “7 Major Health Innovations of 2012 that Matter”.
And, no, they’re not merely tinted glasses. …gray (non-pink) versions coming soon.
As seen in TIME Magazine, Technology Review, and WIRED, the world’s first eyewear designed to enhance the visibility of blood beneath the skin, giving doctors, nurses and other medical personnel a clearer view of vasculature, oxygenation, and trauma.
The O2Amp furnishes superior powers of clinical assessment and diagnosis, better visualizations for procedures and blood work, and is a central piece of medicine’s next-generation toolkit. Eye protection, but with an enhanced perception of health.
Comfortably wear it all day, or quickly pull it out as needed, whether it’s emergency medicine, surgery, dermatology, neonatology or elsewhere.
“It looks like my vision is compensated with Photoshop,” says neurosurgeon Dr. Kei Nomura, Chief of Center for Brain and Spine Surgery, Aoyama General Hospital.
We at 2AI Labs are excited to have our first spin-off company, O2Amps, the home of our patented eyewear and light filtering technology that amplifies one’s view of the emotions and health visible in the color and pallor of other people’s skin.
The technology comes out of my research while at Caltech on the evolution of color vision in primates, where I provided evidence that color vision evolved to sense oxygenation modulations in the hemoglobin under the skin. Once one understands the connection between our color vision and blood physiology, it’s possible to build filters that further amplify our perception of the blood and the signals it provides (a patented invention by myself and my co-director, Tim Barber).
Because color vision evolved for everyday wear, so to speak, one of our largest markets is for everyday-wear sunglasses, to enhance one’s perception of the emotion, mood and health signals we evolved to detect with our color vision. For example, typical sunglasses shade the world but also end up shading one’s connections to other people; this is exemplified by the way people tip up their sunglasses to get a better look at someone. Our technology shades the world but not the social; for the O2Amps, one sees other people better by keeping them on, rather than tipping them up.
There are also applications in security, sports, poker, and dating. (See projects in development.)
And there are applications in medicine, which is where we believe we can make the greatest impact. In fact, for medicine we have developed three different technologies, and they can be described as…
— (i) Oxy-Iso: An oxygenation-isolator that amplifies perception of oxygenation modulations under the skin (and eliminates perception of variations in the concentration of hemoglobin),
— (ii) Hemo-Iso: A trauma-detector, or hemoglobin-concentration-isolator, that amplifies perception of hemoglobin concentrations under the skin (and eliminates perception of variations in oxygenation), and
— (iii) Oxy-Amp: A general clinical enhancer, or oxygenation-amplifier, that combines the best features of the first two; it eliminates neither signal (i.e., it retains perception of both variation in hemoglobin oxygenation and concentration), and only amplifies perception of oxygenation. It provides a strict enhancement to exactly the thing primate color vision evolved to sense.
We’ve received great interest from medical professionals interested in trying out the O2Amp, and we’re moving now to get them in hospitals and among clinical staff everywhere.
We’re also moving into lighting, where entire spaces can be filled with the same filtered light. …no eyewear needed.
We believe our Oxy-Amp is the new starting point for lens blanks.
Colorblind folk have found that the Oxy-Iso provides a big help for their red-green blindness.
See the O2Amp site for all our projects in development.
Note that good light is needed for the technology, by which we mean outdoor lighting or a head lamp.
Some useful links:
– The start-up for this technology… o2amp.com
– Video from Daily Planet television show, Discovery Channel.
– ABC News’ This Could Be Big Television.
– Introductory video (by filmmaker Emon Hasson)… Intro video
– Some testimonials… Testimonials
– More testimonials
– What one sees… Illustration, Description
– Train yourself… in five steps (text only version).
– The research article on the evolution of color vision… Journal article
Some of the press interest in o2amp.com:
MSNBC, Sciencebase, Tech Rev, Betabeat, PopSci, ExameInformatica, Smithsonian, LiveScience/Yahoo, WIRED, NZ Herald, Investors, DesignBoom, Mobiledia, Discovery, PSFK, Neoteo, Earthsky, Good, Wissenundkonzepte, Stuff, Forbes, Actualidad, Geek, Gizmodo, PSFK, Neatorama, TIME, Oprah, BBC, DarkDaily; Lost At E Minor, ZenniOptical. Prevention Magazine, Scientific American / Txchnologist, Slashdot, Diffusion Radio, io9, The Times UK [subscription], BBC, Discovery News, Daily Mail UK, New Scientist, Smart Planet, CBC, Unexplained Mysteries, Telegraph, Voice of Russia, Geek Chic Mama, NY Daily News, GizMag, The Argus, Elite Daily, Columbia Chronicle, Under the Gun, Today, PopSci,
ABC News’ This Could Be Big.
Also, listed as one of the “7 Major Health Innovations of 2012 that Matter”.
~~~
Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, and the author of Harnessed: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man and The Vision Revolution. He is finishing up his new book, HUMAN 3.0, a novel about our human future.
When I read the tweet you sent out, I wondered if there are any ways it can help someone on the autism spectrum better parse another’s emotional state. From reading the article though, I’m now thinking that’s beyond the scope of the product. Is this so?
Maybe! Or maybe not. I really can’t say. But the thought has occurred to us. Hoping someone will try that.
What about visual artists? We are greatly interested in these glasses too.
Indeed, we’ve found lots of interest from artists, although we hadn’t quite anticipated it.
-Mark
I am the piano teacher who uses colored notes to improve a student’s ability to read music and have looked into a lot of research in how children, particularly theses with learning disabilities, may have improved comprehension when text is color coded, seen through colored filters and printed on various colored papers. Even though your eye ware has been designed to pick up variations in skin color due to blood, have you looked into if they help with reading text or symbols (like music)?
Cheers,
Sarah
No, I’m afraid not. Or, at least, if it worked, it would be an accidental side effect.
When is this going to become available? At what price point? Sounds amazing, if it actually works the way it’s described here.
Hi Ben. We’re aiming for the Fall. Thanks much for reaching out. -Mark
Hi Mark, my daughter has an extremely rare genetic syndrome and has Intestinal failure. Over the years she has suffered hundreds of attempts at getting lines into her notoriously difficult to find veins, as she is also allergic to ametop, as you can imagine it is very painful and stressful for her. If this works it would reduce the time spent doing these procedures she undergoes regularly.
Are you working with Great Ormond street Hospital in London? Will these also be available to purchase privately and if so can I preorder?
I hope this is a huge success for you and your lab.
Thanks, Andy, for reaching out; and that sounds awful for her. No, we’re not working with that hospital at this point. We should be ready for purchases by the end of the summer, and we will hold on to your information, and alert you. -Mark Changizi
Andy, so that we can get you into our reach-out-when-they’re-ready list, I’d be grateful if you’d send along your info to sales@2ai.com ; that way your email is there with us. Sincerely, -Mark
Hi Mark,
That email isn’t live.
sales@2ai.org
Sorry, for the email, I mean… sales@2ai.org
Great! Will there be a controlled study to show that phlebotomists using the glasses actually find veins more rapidly, or make fewer errors? And one to show that EMTs or trauma surgeons or whoever are somehow more effective given enhanced perception of hemoglobin?
We will be moving toward that. But in most lighting conditions the effect is not at all subtle.
Would it be hard to use this on those with darker skin tones?
Each person’s color modulations become easier to see. More info in http://www.changizi.com/colorface.pdf (see suppl mat) and especially in my book The Vision Revolution on color perception and ethnicity.
I have an 18 month old granddaughter that has gone through a multitude of tests with no diagnosis yet. She has major problems in fine motor skills and exhibits a few signs of autism yet the doctors say they cannot diagnose autism at her age. I know that the sooner it is diagnosed the greater the benefits of therapy. Also if she doesn’t have autism whatever is causing her delays needs to be found. Could the glasses help diagnosed problems at an earlier age than now possible?
Hi. Sorry to hear about your granddaughter.
Our technology merely adds to the toolkit doctors have at their disposal. …although I am skeptical that our technology would have made a difference in your case. I defer, however, to the opinions of medical doctors in this matter.
Sincerely,
-Mark Changizi
What is the range? I play poker and using these glasses it would be interesting to see if they could accurately “read” a player.
Hi Tank,
They’ll be about the cost of designer sunglasses.
And, indeed.
-Mark
Have you thought of testing these glasses on oral soft tissues. It would be beneficial for those of us in dentistry to not hit a vein while giving anesthesia.
Thanks for the suggestion, and yes, but only because someone else suggested that very idea to us!
Salut from Moscow, Russia. Is it really to diagnose early MELANOMA, a colored (not always) cancer at skin ? If yes, it’ll be breakthrough for oncology in situ. Yours, Gene
Hi Gene,
I’m afraid I don’t know enough about that to answer. IF part of the visual signs are due to variations in hemoglobin oxygenation or concentration, then it might help.
Sincerely,
-Mark
Have there been controlled testing done on social purpose?
For example, you can test whether the glasses can be used to figure out whether another person is telling a lie.
We’re moving toward controlled tests, but first in the medical applications.
Sorry if this is a stupid question. But I would like to know why human lost this ability if it is useful to social life?
Hi Max,
Ah, we never lost this ability. Some of us primates gained this — gained color vision, designed for sensing these color signals. Our technology figured out how to further enhance it.
-Mark
Thanks! I’m also interested in whether this invent can apply to contact lenses. And can a person wearing the O2Amp glasses view a video and to get more information from it? I mean not to view another person directly, but through a video camera.
I would like to get more information about your patents if it is not confidential currently. For example, where can I find a copy of them?
Thanks!
On contacts, sure, although we haven’t begun trying to build that.
On “through a camera,” no. Going through a camera (either with our technology before or after the camera) eliminates the effect, because cameras aren’t sensitive to the needed signal.
Currently the patents are pending, and confidential.
-Mark
I have a design for controlled test for social purpose. It is a poker game.
There are two players in the game.
Player A have 10 poker cards. He asks Player B to guess which color each poker card is one by one. He will tell Player B the color of each card before Player B sees it, but he can lie. Player B must guess whether Player A is lying or not. Player A will will show each card to Player B after B guessed for the color. Then Player B will know whether Player A lied or not for each card.
Then Player B will show Player A another 10 cards in B’s hand, and let Player A to guess for the color.
Who can guess the right color for more times will win. The winner can get $10 as a prize.
We can do this game for four rounds.
In the first round, both A and B do not wear O2Amp glasses.
In the second round, both A and B wear O2Amp glasses.
In the third round, only A wears O2Amp glasses.
In the fourth round, only B wears O2Amp glasses.
We can do this for 10 pairs of players to see the difference after wearing the O2Amp glasses.
Definitely I’m hoping you give it a try. And, of course, even without our technology there will be an advantage to being in person (where our color vision can help) compared to being on camera, or in a room with black-light (which kills the color signals).
Can a user detect whether another person is lying with O2Amp glasses?
BTW, for dating purpose, if a girl have heavy make up, can the man still see the signals?
There are different types of O2Amp glasses. Which type is the best for social purpose?
The glasses that are best for social purposes is the “OxyAmp”. It hurts neither dimension of spectral signal, and only amplifies the oxygenation signal. Best, -Mark
For the “OxyAmp” glasses, do users need to be trainned to get more benifit from it in social context?
Thanks,
Max
It cleans up the signal one normally gets, but relies on one’s normal “mind-reading” abilities (i.e., unconscious sensitivity to blushes, blanches, etc.) we’re all born with. But, people can be trained to be better sensors of these color modulations (and other cues to emotions), with or without our technology.
Mark,
For the patents, may I get (perhaps) non-confidential information like when they were filed? Or what is the priority date? And which countries the patent will cover? Or in which contries you have filed the patent?
Best,
Max
Can the technique be applied to a membrane for the glasses? Then a user do not need to replace his favorate glasses, and he only need to add a “O2Amp membrane” to it.
In principle, and we’re pursuing that.
I’m not sure why it removes information if watch through a camera. Perhaps the camera adjusted some color? It should be no difference comparing to “face to face” if the camera recorded all the color as it was.
Cameras don’t record “all the color” out there. The spectrum of light is essentially an infinite dimensional space, and our cones and camera-filters capture just three dimensions of these infinitely many. Cameras capture a different three dimensions than the three our eyes capture.
Mark,
I believe you must weared the glasses for some time. What is your personal experience/feelings for it? Did it make difference hugely in social life?
Thanks,
Max
For emotion sensing, one must remember that one is already doing it under normal conditions, but you’re not generally consciously aware of it. With the Oxy-Amp technology, those same mechanisms you normally use just get a better, cleaner signal. I greatly enjoy wearing them.
And I would like to know the feedback from current O2Amp users on social life. Are they satisfied with it? What percentage of them prefer to wear it everyday?
Thanks,
Xiaoyang
Can your glasses “read” mammals or reptiles?
I don’t know much about the long evolutionary history and phylogeny of hemoglobin. Here’s a starter image: http://marianuniversityscienceblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/hemoglobin-evolution.jpg
Short answer, I don’t know what the spectral changes are for hemoglobin in far-off species, nor the extent to which they might be visible through the skin.
I would be happy to *hear* about any experiments one might do in this regard, however.
When your glasses come to market, I will try that experiment.
Thanks for your time.
Robert~
Does the glasses work for all skin types?
Yes. It relies on the universal properties of blood visible through the skin. Darker skin may need greater illuminant, but otherwise equivalent. (See suppl materials of http://www.changizi.com/colorface.pdf for data on this, actually.)
[…] Vision Glasses 2AI Labs has invented glasses that make veins more visible to nurses trying to draw blood, aid in the detection of trauma, and can even tell how someone is […]
[…] Some months ago, Mark Changizi, Theoretical Neurobiologist and Director of Human Cognition at 2AI Labs, sat down and explained to me the idea that lead to the invention of O2Amp Eyewear. Changizi is the author of Vision Revolution and you can read more about the invention on his blog. […]
how are these different than Didymium glasses in the same tint for glassblowing and in photo filters for “enhancement filters” ?
gwen
Hi Gwen,
Our filters (all three of them at O2Amp) are different than Didymium. It’s not the tint that does the “work”, but the specific regions let through or blocked. There are infinitely many distinct filters that end up with the perceptually identical tint, for example.
We have, in fact, a second manufacturer producing non-pink, polarized, versions — these ones are your typical sunglasses color. …yet do the same filtering function as our Oxy-Amp.
Sincerely,
-Mark
When can we expect the non pinks 🙂
🙂 Well, we have our manufacturer in place, and you can see our first prototypes in one of the figures here: http://io9.com/5981916/how-mark-changizis-weird-theory-on-human-vision-helped-him-conquer-colorblindness-with-eyewear
We also have mirrored versions now, although not quite for sale yet.
Brilliant, my wife works for a vein clinic and I am absolutely fascinated !
I am a pilot and have been deemed red/ green color deficient and it has now
put a rock in the road of my flying , where as i am not allowed to fly at night .
I’m hoping that if i was to buy these glasses i would be allowed to use them to fly
at night does anyone know the answer to this?
thanks, Woody
Woody,
I’m afraid I don’t know if our Oxy-Iso would satisfy the formal requirements you must pass.
Sincerely,
-Mark
hey,
i have red green color blindness.
Can i use only one lens and go for ishihara test
and would i be able to pass it.
secondly,
can i put it in a size of 30 mm long and 12 mm frame and use them???
Yes. You can also buy our uncut lenses, and they can be installed into any frames. See http://o2amp.com
-Mark
Hi,
I have a red and green color blindness, will this glass help me pass the ishihara test 100%?
Yes, indeed.
Is the vine finder glasses special for finding the vine before doing the blood test ? .. how much is it ? And do you ship worldwide?
Thanks
Yes.
On price, we have a variety of options, see https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=oxy-iso
We ship worldwide.
Sincerely,
Mark