The Color-Blind are Health-Blind, but It Can Be Fixed

 

There are those among us who are “health blind”, i.e., handicapped at sensing the health signals most of us easily recognize on others around us. They are the color blind. But we at O2Amp can fix that.

 

1. The Health-Blind Among Us

Despite the presence of modern electronic medical sensing tools, medical personnel still rely on their naked-eye visual skills when examining and judging the symptoms and health of patients (Savin et al. 1997).

But it is not widely appreciated that approximately 5% of medical personnel – 10% of men and 1% of women – are “health blind”, i.e., they are severely perceptually handicapped at sensing the health symptoms of patients. And they – and those that hire them – often don’t even realize.

Who are these “health blind” medical personnel?

Although not widely appreciated, it has long been documented that red-green color-deficients are disabled at seeing veins, vasculature, pallor, cyanosis, jaundice, rashes, bruising, erythema, retinal damage, ear and throat inflammation, and blood in excretions (Dalton 1798; Wilson 1855; Best & Jaenel 1880; Little 1881; Ahlenstiel 1951; Logan 1977; Voke 1980; Steward & Cole 1989; Spalding 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004; Currier 1994; Anthony & Spalding 1999, 2004; Campbell et al. 1999, 2004, 2005; Reiss 2001; Cockburn 2004; Cole 2004; Changizi et al., 2006, suppl Table 1; Spalding et al. 2012). Even 18th century scientist John Dalton, who was color blind, observed that he “could scarcely distinguish mud from blood” (Dalton 1798).

Even today 10% of the 500 most prevalent medical conditions list skin color changes amongst the symptoms (Changizi & Rio 2009), and a red-green color deficient’s deficit in discriminating reds and greens makes him or her unable to see these everyday health color signals on the skin.

Color deficiency can consequently lead to medical misdiagnosis (Campbell, 1999; Campbell et al., 2004, 2005), and has at various times prevented entry into medical school (Hiroshi, 1998).

If you’re red-green colorblind, then you’re health-blind. And among those not traditionally deemed color deficient, many are mildly so, and thus mildly health-blind.

The graph below shows the reported clinical difficulties among 42 color-deficient doctors surveyed by Spalding (1995). (It should be kept in mind that this particular graph shows reported difficulties, and thus does not capture what the color-deficient doctors don’t realize they’re missing.)

Self-reported clinical perception difficulties from 42 color-deficient doctors (Spalding, 1995).

2. Color-Deficiency is an Especially Severe Problem for the Medical Profession

A variety of occupations (e.g., pilots, police) routinely require passing a color exam before entry, and in some countries passing a color exam is even required in order to get a driver’s license.

But, except in rare instances (e.g., Hiroshi, 1998), color blindness had not been a formal barrier for becoming a doctor.

Unfortunately, a recent discovery by researchers at our 2ai Labs ( http://2ai.org ) shows that color blindness is not just a problem for medical personnel, but a disproportionate problem for the medical community.

In 2006, we showed that color vision evolved specifically to distinguish health and emotion states on the skin: our peculiar primate variety of color vision evolved to be optimized for sensing the oxygenation modulations hemoglobin undergoes under the skin (Changizi et al., 2006).

Red-green color vision is uniquely about seeing oxygenation, and therefore red-green color-deficients are especially hindered at seeing the skin signals that underlie health signals. Unlike other fields where colorblindness is a handicap but where it is actually fairly unlikely to find perfectly indiscriminable colors to a color-deficient, the oxygenation variations of blood under the skin are completely invisible to the red-green colorblind because they’re missing the evolved machinery specifically designed to detect it.

Color blindness is consequently a critical issue in clinical settings for patient health. Approximately 5% of clinical personnel are handicapped at detecting everyday health signals on the skin (including seeing veins, for example), and yet many are not even cognizant of their handicap. (And neither are the many other personnel who are only mildly color-deficient (sometimes due to aging).)

Color deficiency is also a serious liability issue for medical staff and their employers, and color deficient doctors have been sued on this basis (see citation to News & Observer).

3. The O2Amp Medical Solution for Color-Deficiency

Historically there has been no solution for the color deficient clinician. Varieties of filtered eyewear for color deficients exist that can help them pass Ishihara tests or perceive certain discriminations among objects in the world. But none were designed to enhance the signal that primate color vision evolved to detect: oxygenation variations in the skin (Changizi et al., 2006). And thus no previous color blindness treatment was consistent with the health perception demands of medical personnel.

We at 2ai Labs, having discovered the evolutionary function of color vision, were in the unique position to design optical technology to enhance the signal for which color-deficients are deficient. In particular, we created O2Amp, our company highlighting several distinct optical technologies for enhancing perception of facets of the blood under the skin.

For color deficients our flagship technology is our Oxy-Iso Colorblind Correction Medical Eyewear, designed to amplify and isolate the oxygenation signal coming from under the skin. Color-normals use the eyewear to enhance perception of veins, but color-deficient medical personnel use the eyewear to amplify their minimal baseline sensitivity to oxygenation variations in the skin.

The Oxy-Iso doesn’t merely aid color deficiency…

…the Oxy-Iso aids color-deficiency in a manner consistent with the symptom-, vasculature-, and health-perceptual needs of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel.

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[See O2Amp’s site – http://o2amp.com – for testimonials and more information. Also see the following for example results on the Farnsworth-Munsell Test: https://changizi.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/the-ravenous-color-blind-new-developments-on-o2amp-for-color-deficients/ ]

“I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed using your eyewear, especially the Oxy-Iso glasses. I now use them in all of my leg vein procedures. Being color blind makes finding deeper (reticular) cutaneous veins a challenge; the Oxy-Iso eyewear makes them much easier to see… We actually have the Christie Vein Viewer (one of the IR devices) in our office… Although it is a very cool product, it does markedly alter the appearance of veins and the treatment process itself. While I haven’t used the IR device much for sclerotherapy, I use my Oxy-Iso’s every single time.” – Daniel Friedmann, MD, Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery

“This is exciting. I have not been able to see colors my entire life… They really work. I recommend them.” – Cary M. Silverman, MD, ophthalmic surgeon, Eyecare 20:20. Video review.

“I had to try them, working in the Dental field, colors are very important in many aspects of my practice. They vary from instruments identification, diagnosis of the oral cavity, and many other aspects. I went from the muted colors that I was used to all my life, to what I perceive as a more bold, and brighter red and greens. To me the darker red shades, like maroons and burgandy colors are more lighter with the oxy-iso on. I went from not seeing any numbers on the online color blindness tests, to seeing most of them. It has been stated that there may be some limitations of these online test due to screen settings and ambient light. But going from seeing nothing to almost all of them is truly remarkable to me.” – DKH, DDS, Glen Cove

“After 20+ years of medical education, I had a healthy skepticism about these glasses. I mean, how can you “cure” color-blindness, my cone cells have a mutation and my brain has learned to adapt. My eyes simply can’t absorb light at those frequencies. But, I was intrigued. As a surgeon, being color blind has not affected me as much as you might think, texture is very important, as is consistency, and I think I rely on those cues all the time. However, I do have a problem telling if something is bile-stained versus just bloody, and dark bloody emesis I could only tell by the smell. But as an art lover, and flower lover, being color blind is just annoying. Not to mention trying to shop at places like J. Crew where all the stupid colors are like, “stone” and “sledge”. What? // Anyway, I bought these on a lark, and OH MY GOD, THEY WORK!!! I only get 1 right on the Ishihara color blindness plate test (red-green and some blue-yellow deficiencies), but with these glasses, I got more than half right! It makes everything brighter and so much more intense! I scrolled through a website of Impressionist paintings and it was incredible! Beautiful!! I can see red flowers on trees now!! I can see the red on birds’ wings!! it’s actually almost overwhelming, I don’t wear them very often because it makes me a little sad that I’ve lived 44 years with a muted palette. I haven’t tried them in the OR yet, but I’m on call Wednesday. . . Makes me wish I’d invented or invested.” – Dr. Marie Crandall, Associate Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

“Currently, I occasionally try them during orthopedic surgeries, but mostly during speys and castrations. Some of the pregnant or recently pregnant dogs/cats (especially cats) have large networks of enlarged superficial vasculature just beneath the skin, and the glasses can be beneficial in identifying and avoiding these during the initial incision.” Dr. Aaron Raney, color-deficient veterinarian

REFERENCES
1. Ahlenstiel H (1951) Red-green blindness as a personal experience. Kodak Research Library, London.
2. Anthony J, Spalding, B (1999) Colour vision deficiency in the medical profession. Br J Gen Pract 49: 469-475.
3. Anthony J, Spalding B (2004) Confessions of a colour blind physician. Clin Exp Opt 87: 344-349.
4. Best, F, Haenel H (1880) Rotgrün blindheit nach schneeblendung. Kin Monatsbl Augenheilkd. Beilagen 45: 88-105.
5. Campbell JL, Spalding AJ, Mir FA, Birch J (1999) Doctors and the assessment of clinical photographs—does colour blindness matter? Br J Gen Pract 49: 459-461.
6. Campbell JL, Spalding AJ, Mir FA (2004) The description of physical signs of illness in photographs by physicians with abnormal colour vision. Clin Exp Optom 87: 334-338.
7. Campbell JL, Griffin L, Spalding AJ, Mir FA (2005) The effect of abnormal colour vision on the ability to identify and outline coloured clinical signs and to count stained bacilli in sputum. Clin Exp Optom 88: 376-381.
8. Changizi MA, Zhang Q, Shimojo S (2006) Bare skin, blood, and the evolution of primate color vision. Biology Letters 2: 217-221. http://www.changizi.com/colorface.pdf
9. Changizi MA, Rio K (2009) Harnessing color vision for visual oximetry in central cyanosis. Medical Hypotheses 74: 87-91. http://www.changizi.com/colorclinical.pdf
10. Cockburn DM (2004) Confessions of a colour blind optometrist. Clin Exp Opt 87: 350-352.
11. Cole BL (2004) The handicap of abnormal colour vision. Clin Exp Opt 87: 258-275.
12. Currier JD (1994) A two and a half colour rainbow. Arch Neurol 51: 1090-1092.
13. Dalton J (1798) Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours. Memoirs of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society 5: 28-45.
14. Hiroshi T (1998) Relaxation of university admission restriction for students with abnormal color vision. Japan Ophthalm 59: 123.
15. Jeffries BJ (1983) Colour blindness—its dangers and detection. Riverside Press, Cambridge, MA.
16. Little WS (1881) Experience of a red-blind physician with one ophthalmoscope. Practical advantage of colour-blindness with a case. Arch Ophthalm 10: 20-22.
17. Logan JS (1977) The disability in so-called red-green blindness. An account based on many years of self-observation. Ulster Med J 46: 41-45.
18. News & Observer. Partially blind, color blind surgeon continues to practice despite lawsuits. http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/news/partially_blind_color_blind_surgeon_continues_to_practice_despite_lawsuits.htm
19. Reiss MJ, Labowitz DA, Forman S, Wormser GP (2001) Impact of color blindness on recognition of blood in body fluids. Arch Int Med 161: 461-465.
20. Savin JA, Hunter JAA, Hepburn NC (1997) Skin Signs in Clinical Medicine. Mosby-Wolfe, London.
21. Spalding JAB (1993) The doctor with an inherited defect of colour vision: the effect on clinical skills. Br J Gen Pract 43: 32-33.
22. Spalding JAB (1995) Doctors with inherited colour vision deficiency: their difficulties in clinical work, In Cavonius CR. Ed. Proceedings of the International Research Group for Colour Vision Deficiency. Kluwer International Publishing: 483-489.
23. Spalding JAB (1997) Doctor with inherited colour vision deficiency: their difficulties with clinical work. In Colour Vision Deficiencies XIII (ed. Cavonius, C.R.) Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 483-489.
24. Spalding JAB (1999) Medical students and congenital colour vision deficiency: unnoticed problems and the cases for screening. Occup Med 49: 247-252.
25. Spalding JAB (2004) Confessions of a colour blind physician. Clin Exp Optom. 87: 344-349.
26. Spalding A, Cole B, Mir F (2012) http://colourmed.com
27. Steward SM, Cole BL (1989) What do colour vision defectives say about everyday tasks? Optom Vis Sci 66, 288-295.
28. Voke J (1980) Colour vision testing in specific industries and professions. Keller, London.
29. Wilson G (1855) Research on colour blindness with a supplement. Southerland and Knox, Edinburgh.

Sample colorblind testimonials for O2Amp

[For more about our Oxy-Iso and its ability to aid some red-green color-deficients, see this link. Buy them at Amazon.]

• “This is exciting. I have not been able to see colors my entire life. … They really work. I recommend them.” Cary M. Silverman, MD, ophthalmic surgeon, Eyecare 20:20, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7jJa_MxGaQ

• “After 20+ years of medical education, I had a healthy skepticism about these glasses. I mean, how can you “cure” color-blindness, my cone cells have a mutation and my brain has learned to adapt. My eyes simply can’t absorb light at those frequencies. But, I was intrigued. As a surgeon, being color blind has not affected me as much as you might think, texture is very important, as is consistency, and I think I rely on those cues all the time. However, I do have a problem telling if something is bile-stained versus just bloody, and dark bloody emesis I could only tell by the smell. But as an art lover, and flower lover, being color blind is just annoying. Not to mention trying to shop at places like J. Crew where all the stupid colors are like, “stone” and “sledge”. What? // Anyway, I bought these on a lark, and OH MY GOD, THEY WORK!!! I only get 1 right on the Ishihara color blindness plate test (red-green and some blue-yellow deficiencies), but with these glasses, I got more than half right! It makes everything brighter and so much more intense! I scrolled through a website of Impressionist paintings and it was incredible! Beautiful!! I can see red flowers on trees now!! I can see the red on birds’ wings!! It’s actually almost overwhelming, I don’t wear them very often because it makes me a little sad that I’ve lived 44 years with a muted palette. I haven’t tried them in the OR yet, but I’m on call Wednesday… Makes me wish I’d invented or invested.” Dr. Marie Crandall, Associate Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

• “I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed using your eyewear, especially the Oxy-Iso glasses. I now use them in all of my leg vein procedures. Being color blind makes finding deeper (reticular) cutaneous veins a challenge; the Oxy-Iso eyewear makes them much easier to see. … We actually have the Christie Vein Viewer (one of the IR devices) in our office… Although it is a very cool product, it does markedly alter the appearance of veins and the treatment process itself. While I haven’t used the IR device much for sclerotherapy, I use my Oxy-Iso’s every single time. … I can’t live without my O2amps.” Daniel Friedmann, MD, Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery

• “Currently, I occasionally try them during orthopedic surgeries, but mostly during speys and castrations. Some of the pregnant or recently pregnant dogs/cats (especially cats) have large networks of enlarged superficial vasculature just beneath the skin, and the glasses can be beneficial in identifying and avoiding these during the initial incision.” Dr. Aaron Raney, color-deficient veterinarian

• “I’ve just received a couple of special specs to attempt to reduce my colour blindness, from Mark Changizi and O2Amp. When I first put one of them on, I got a shiver of excitement at how vibrant and red lips, clothes and other objects around me seemed. I’ve just done a quick 8 plate Ishihara colour blindness test. I scored 0/8 without the specs (so obviously colour blind), but 8/8 with them on (normal colour vision)!” Daniel Bor, psychologist, University of Sussex, author, The Ravenous Brain.

• “I tested the glasses on a r-g deficient patient and he was amazed.” Dr. Jeff Sciberras, Optometrist

• “I found the red one to be useful (or, at least, the one that my wife tells me is red!). It makes many colors more vivid, although what looks white without them has just the slightest tinge of pink through the lens. Compared to the other two, it’s much closer to what I have imagined that “normal” people see, and the colors match up with what I’m told they are.” Russell Belding

• “Your O2Amp glasses just nearly eliminated my wife’s color blindness! It was incredible to watch her take those tests.” Samuel Arbesman, scientist, author of Half-Life of Facts, writer for WIRED

• “…the oxy-iso lens blew me away. All of a sudden, the numbers just appeared on the screen!” Debra Miller Arbesman.

• “Words can’t express how it feels…” Bruce Berls, “Amazing! Oxy-Iso Glasses Cure Red-Green Colorblindness.

• “Putting on the Oxy-Iso lenses is almost scary as it reveals clear and intentional color differences that I could not see at all. It reveals something everyone sees but me.” Luke Harrington

• “This is a life-changing product! For 73 years I have been seriously handicapped by red-green colour blindness. I can now read all the Ishihara tests with ease and can see blossoms on the trees for the first time! Thank you very much.” David A.

• “While the Oxy-Iso glasses don’t magically grant me normal sight, they *do* create a new visual palette that contains much more information about the reds and greens of the world than I can normally see. The cost of this enhancement is a reduction in the fidelity of pure whites, yellows and blues, and an overall darker scene. To paraphrase 2AI Labs, the glasses distribute the confusion so it’s less focused on the red-green. That being said, with good lighting the Oxy-Iso allowed me to successfully complete the Ishihara plate test at nearly 100% accuracy, where before I always failed it in spectacular fashion. Walking around outside, I noticed color differences that I’d never seen before.” Ryan Yokley

  “I bought these as a gift for a friend of mine. He is a 50 year old man who has been colour blind all his life. He loves the glasses and wears them all the time especially for driving as he he says the colour enhancement is amazing. As a man myself, I am bordering colour blind and cannot pass the Ishihara colour blind test. When the lenses were delivered here I tried them myself and passed hte test easily. So I would recommend them. For reference the lenses are quite thick and would not be easy to break by children.” Stephen J.

• “They’re not the cure-all for color deficiency, but they make color vision better.” Kenneth Baratto, September 30, 2013

• “I’m using some of your lenses to differentiate between colours in A-level chemistry as I’m colourblind, they work!” Alastair Paterson

• “I have just received the glasses I ordered and I am pleased to say there is a definite improvement in my colour vision.” Keith Rogan

• “I have received the Oxy-Iso. (speechless) WOW! This is the first time I can go through the Ishihara test without feeling like an idiot. I went through it with my colleagues and they said I looked like a child opening Christmas presents. Hahaha! Reds scream at you! The contrast with the greens is truly remarkable. My colleagues where impressed by how veins stand out, it is really something big. Every day I find new things, it’s like having a new pair of eyes. Thanks, Mark. Truly remarkable. Congratulations! Great job!” Dr. Matias Nochetto

• “I wanted to send you a sincere, heart-felt thank you for your work on the O2AMP Oxy-Iso lenses. My boyfriend is red-green colorblind, and after 30 years he is now able to see the rosiness of his niece’s cheeks, the shades of red brick on the streets of Boston, and a full spectrum of colors which he has never experienced. He received the lenses yesterday and he has not taken them off aside from when he slept. Again, thank you so very, very much.” Katie Ireson

• “These glasses are indeed incredible. For years I thought that I was stupid until I realised in my 20s that I was colour blind. When I got the glasses, I immediately tried the Ishihara test, and got 100%. I can appreciate so much colour contrast that before I just had to take on trust. Everything seems so much clearer; it is as if I have turned on the contrast button. I realise that the glasses were not developed as a ‘cure’ for colour blindness and so they are not marketed in the UK- but they are little short of miraculous. Well done!!!” Chris Finch, Sept 30, 2013

• “Thrilled I did a Ishihara test. Wonderful! I think it was a good buy.” Mauro Farbene

• “A quick scan of the real world and yes there seems to be something to this. The evergreen trees definitely popped more green than the brown grass and leaves. It will not revolutionize my life, but I look forward to carrying one of these lenses in my bag to use whenever I go clothes shopping or similar.” Neckbeard.ca

• “My first word when I put on the glasses: “Wow!” I’ve since used that word many, many times. On a 38 plate Ishihara test for red-green colorblindness I scored 50% without the glasses and 100% with them! Before these glasses, I had no idea how dull the world looked through my eyes. Reds really pop. So do blues. I knew that I didn’t have many, if any, green cones so I did not expect much help with greens and, indeed, I only received minimal improvement with greens. I also knew that the glasses would sacrifice yellows and whites and, indeed, they are darker for me with the glasses. I have worn the glasses to see paintings, flowers, television, old photos, and I even stopped in a paint store to see the phenomenal change in color swatches.” Mark S. Kramer (San Diego)

• “I wanted to send you a sincere, heart-felt thank you for your work on the O2AMP Oxy-Iso lenses. My boyfriend is red-green colorblind, and after 30 years he is now able to see the rosiness of his niece’s cheeks, the shades of red brick on the streets of Boston, and a full spectrum of colors which he has never experienced. He received the lenses yesterday and he has not taken them off aside from when he slept.” Iris K.

• “I can add that as I have had these on more I discovered that I can now play all of those color based tetris like games that I always screwed up before. Recognizing that red’s are actually lighter than I knew was a real revelation as well. Please dont hesitate ..these glasses bring a new level of color to those who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance.” Bobby J. (Florida)

• “If your on the fence about these, let me just say that I can honestly say these work, although to the degree of the users ailment will determine the final result, for me, being hopelessly colorblind I can differentiate colors, the reds jump into out, I still fail the tests but I couldn’t care less because I can see the difference in colors now.” David Coates (Columbus)

• “My son saw colors for the first time! He is like a kid with a new & important toy! It is like a miracle. Thank you.” Sandra (New Orleans)

• “I had to try them, working in the Dental field, colors are very important in many aspects of my practice. They vary from instruments identification, diagnosis of the oral cavity, and many other aspects. I went from the muted colors that I was used to all my life, to what I perceive as a more bold, and brighter red and greens. To me the darker red shades, like maroons and burgandy colors are more lighter with the oxy-iso on. I went from not seeing any numbers on the online color blindness tests, to seeing most of them. It has been stated that there may be some limitations of these online test due to screen settings and ambient light. But going from seeing nothing to almost all of them is truly remarkable to me.” DKH (Glen Cove)

• “Certainly do what I need, to help me fill my job requirements, very happy. Thank you very much O2 amps!” Jean-Guy Sasseville

• “Without the Oxy-Iso he could “see” by tracing with his finger 4 of the Ishihara plates. After he could see all but 2 of the trickier ones and was able to trace those.” Justin Nyquist

• “These lenses have reduced my colorblindness tremendously. I hope 2AI Labs can further fine-tune and develop a lens that will not dilute the blues and yellows as much, but the reds and greens are absolutely outstanding! It’s almost eerie being able to see some of these colors for the first time!” Ryan J., May 12, 2013

• “I have the oxy iso and they are great. 100% score. Fabulous.” Chris

• “Just received my O2Amp Oxy-Iso glasses. Real colors are weirder than I ever knew! Amazing I am seeing new colors for the first time!” Brian Weston

• “The glasses work to some extent. They may not be a substitute for perfect color vision but its a good start.” sree60, August 6, 2013

• “Will recommend to my other friends who has colour deficiency problem like me.” Mohamad R., June 23, 2013

• “lens actually make a significant difference.” Marek M., June 19, 2013

• “i realized. all the rainbow color I have been seeing is all bleached out looking rainbow. With this oxy-iso put on, I can see more colors, traffic lights are more clear, sporty looking glasses, I can see the numbers on the color testing board( that book shows number in the colorful circle thing), and best of all, now I can understand why my wife wants hot pink underwear… lol” Jimmy Kim

• “OMFG! I see red!” Arctic Automaton, Oct 5, 2013

• “When I first put on the Oxy-Iso glasses I was blow away with red, it was though someone had turned lights on the roses in my back yard and I actually saw some deep red mums on a plant that I thought had not bloomed . I saw pink in the sunset and I can hardly wait for the leafs to change. However, after I was taken by the brightness of the reds is how all shades and values of greens seemed to turn into a muted, kind of ugly almost brown color. My second surprise was the difficulty in telling orange and red from each other. As a painter I will keep the glasses to augment my color mixing to include red and orange shades when needed, however I will take them off to observe the depth of the greens. As a side note I passed every tile in the Ishihara charts (26 out of 26); something I usually get maybe three correct with at least one good (lucky) guess.” AJohn

• “I use these for work purposes, to see changes in colour for lab tests. They help so much, especially where my main problem is waiting for purple to turn blue. Great product, glad I came across these.” Jeffrey Williams

• “I have Red Green colorblindness. I used these glasses last night to watch the Movie “OZ the Great and Powerful”. I could not believe all the great colors. I realized last night how much I have really missed over the years. The glasses do not fix everything. I still cannot see the difference between the Yellow and Red on most stop lights. I plan on trying them again in our next movie. I have also started using them when I touch up my photos in PhotoShop. My wife tells me the final results are much better. The price is steep but I can tell you I have enjoyed them.” Golfdude

• “I can’t say enough about Karen, the General Manager at LensCrafters at Parkway Plaza. I needed a special set of color vision lenses (O2Amp Oxy-Iso; available from Amazon) cut and fitted to frames and she offered to do it. I hadn’t expected LensCrafters to do it because neither the lenses nor the frames were from LensCrafters. She and the staff were as excited as I was about the lenses that allow me to see red and green; everyone had to try them once they were cut! I am so thankful for Karen and her team for doing this. They receive my highest recommendation!” Mark K., Oct 6, 2013

• “When the glasses arrived he looked at the test plates and couldn’t distinguish the hidden numbers without the glasses. However with the glasses on he could distinguish them all. He has also used them in his college lab work. He is very excited to have them. They were well packaged and as usual arrived very quickly. Highly recommended.” R. Drew, December 12, 2013

• “Amazing product! I passed the color vision test for the first time… in tears! Wow!” Computer Guy, Dec 6, 2013

• “P.S. My dad really loves the glasses!” Bill, December 2013

• “Oh my god! I totally see green!” Miles Baker, December 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9Lqi95R-jk

• “To me, as a dirt-poor teenager, these were absolutely worth the $277. My world is not “fixed”, but I can find things I’ve never noticed before. I can see things in art that escaped me before. A world of plant life that had escaped my notice, or was simply a pain to focus on, is now much easier for me to view, assuming I have them with me. The first month was the most exciting, of course, but I find myself appreciating them fairly regularly, even more so as we head into the Christmas season.” Swamp Gentleman, December, 2013

• “I am super happy with these glasses! Love love love them… totally worth the money” Sherri, December 2013

• “Your amazing lenses have changed my life. Gardens, Art galleries, and even just day-to-day activities are filled with new color experiences. Thank you.” Herbert Connor, chemist, January 2014

Sample medical testimonials for O2Amp

• “I have had no eye-strain after about 4 hours surgery with this glasses. I could see the operation view well, it looks like compensated with Photoshop.” Dr. Kei Nomura, Chief of Center for brain and spine surgery – Aoyama General Hospital

• “If this saves us from putting in 1 extra PICC line it [which can cost $3k w/ ultrasound] would pay for 10 pair.” Saint Alphonsus Medical Center

• “I use these glasses and sometimes a vein light from Veinlite to do Sclerotherapy for varicose veins and telangectasias . Since I got the glasses, I find that I can do more treatment of more vessels without the light.” Seth McLaughlin

• “…students can watch real blood flow, by blocking and squeezing veins, easier than bare eyes. I had ‘wows’ from the students.” Dr. Tohru Murakami, Professor of Anatomy, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine

• “I’m the parent of a 3 year old severe haemophiliac and we are learning to do IV infusions at home. For the time being, that means mom and dad are practising vein finding and establishing a port on each other. There is definitely a distinct difference in our vein finding ability with the glasses on: Its a great confidence boost. I find that really bright light improves the effect dramatically. Whereas without the glasses, bright light can have a bleaching effect on the visual field; with the glasses on, veins truly stand out like a road map.” [Kept anonymous.]

• “I have received the Oxy-Iso. (speechless) WOW! Reds scream at you! The contrast with the greens is truly remarkable. My colleagues where impressed by how veins stand out, it is really something big. Truly remarkable. Congratulations! Great job!” Dr. Matias Nochetto

• “I have truly integrated them as a 1st line tool for technical professionalism and safe patient care. I have been using your O2 AMP medical optics as I assist, on the average 3 cardiac catheterization procedures a day for over two months now, and they have become an essential tool for visualizing and determining cardiac anatomy as well as any deficiencies. The clarity and magnification they provide is an asset to patient care while reducing eye strain and fatigue. In addition my success with 1st time intravenous therapy insertions has become even more efficient with O2 AMP medical optic’s enhanced visualizations of vein color. Respectfully, Warren Mackey R.N., Boise/Meridian Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, St. Luke’s Health Services”

• “Used the Iso’s on a gentleman, couldn’t feel on either arm. Was able to really see the basillic vein of the L antecubital. Was a successful draw. Apparently this man was a very hard draw. Patient stated: ‘technology is a beautiful thing.’ He told me he hates having his blood drawn. He left very happy. I feel like I have a little cheat and its wonderful! =D” Tara Roberts, ASCP certified phlebotomy technician at a St Lukes clinic in Boise ID.

• “…I see a dramatic difference.” Phillip Svehla, Phlebotek

• “I got the O2 Amps today and what else can I saw other then they are amazing.” Stephen Courson, Nurse, U Miami

• “…a striking visualization of what lies beneath the skin.” Dr. Barbara Changizi, Director of Neuromodulation, Mt. Sinai Medical Center

• “…veins were obvious with the dark purple eyewear.” Jason Goldman, developmental psychologist and writer for Scientific American.

• “I have successfully used the darkest pink glasses to start many difficult IV’s. Once, in an attempt to place a line in a child, only a small circular region of the vein was visible, and so its orientation imperceptible. But with the Oxy glasses, enough of the vein became visible that its orientation could be seen, and the line placed.” Jake Youren, St. Alphonsus Medical Center.

• “A car accident victim complained in the ER of chest and abdomen pain, and although no bruising was apparent, with the Hemo-Iso glasses one could clearly see the bruised impression of the seat belt on her chest and abdomen.” Jake Youren, St. Alphonsus Medical Center.

• “The small surface vessels seem to stand out nicely and when doing quick scans for veins it is quite helpful. The darker shade is much more functional in the back of the well lit ambulance and as advertised, the lighter shade is better for all around use.” Dan Ruegsegger, The largest Ambulance / EMS company (AMR)

• “All the customers noticed that [the Oxy-Iso] eyewear really improves our vision to see the veins. They think it might be very useful for blood withdraw, specially in kids. Also, they noticed that glasses protects a lot the eyes, considering it as personal protection device.” Rodrigo Didario, distributor in Brazil.

• “The glasses are a great hit with the staff on the Msed mobile hospital unit. During the height of [Hurricane] Sandy, we successfully delivered a preterm baby at 35 weeks in a church. I used the glasses to detect oxygenation as the child came out and it helped prevent intubation knowing that vital information. The story made it to the news as well as the discovery channel which just filmed a documentary on how the innovation and technology of the mobile hospital.” Jason Steinfeld, registered respiratory therapist.

• “I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed using your eyewear, especially the Oxy-Iso glasses. I now use them in all of my leg vein procedures . Being color blind makes finding deeper (reticular) cutaneous veins a challenge; the Oxy-Iso eyewear makes them much easier to see.” Daniel Friedmann, MD, Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery

• “As a surgeon, being color blind has not affected me as much as you might think, texture is very important, as is consistency, and I think I rely on those cues all the time. However, I do have a problem telling if something is bile-stained versus just bloody, and dark bloody emesis I could only tell by the smell. … I bought these on a lark, and OH MY GOD, THEY WORK!!!” Dr. Marie Crandall, Associate Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

• “Currently, I occasionally try them during orthopedic surgeries, but mostly during speys and castrations. Some of the pregnant or recently pregnant dogs/cats (especially cats) have large networks of enlarged superficial vasculature just beneath the skin, and the glasses can be beneficial in identifying and avoiding these during the initial incision.” Dr. Aaron Raney, color-deficient veterinarian

O2Amp Inside: The new starting point for lens blanks

Lens blanks for…people.

O2Amp Oxy-Amps are the new baseline lens blank for eyewear, here shown with five different polarized sunglass shades overtop.

By removing narrow slivers of optical noise, our Oxy-Amp lens blanks provide superior color vision, and are the new starting point for lens blanks. Here are some of its advantages.

• Nature-validated color-enhancement. Our optical filtering technology provides a strict enhancement to color vision, as nature intended it. In particular, we designed our Oxy-Amp to enhance perception of oxygenation variations in the skin, the very signal our red-green color vision evolved to detect. It works by removing narrow slivers of optical noise — a kind of “glare” — emanating from the spectral signals from other people.
• Enhanced perception of people. Perception of people and their emotions, moods and states are enhanced. It’s the first eyewear and light-filtering technology designed for seeing…people.
• Maintains perception of the world. The Oxy-Amp filter blocks only a tiny amount of light, and is designed not to interfere with other aspects of perception; the world retains its intrinsic colors and beauty.
• Smartly shades the sun. For sunwear, the Oxy-Amp begins by cutting out sun glare in exactly the spots which simultaneously enhance our evolved perception of color.
• Ready for optical add-ons. Because the Oxy-Amp targets only a thin sliver of wavelengths, it makes the perfect starting point for the addition of further optical enhancements, whether it be prescription curves, polarization (see photo above), or filters designed for specific sports or habitats.
• Part of the lens blank itself. And our Oxy-Amp is achieved via a dye, and is part of the UV-protected polycarbonate structure from its very formation.

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Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, a managing director of O2Amp, and the author of HARNESSED: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man and THE VISION REVOLUTION. .

“Why we see illusions” at TED

I spoke at TED in NYC in December of 2012 on my grand unified theory of illusions. For more information, see my earlier book, The Vision Revolution. (For those with a strong stomach, see this journal article.)

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Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, a managing director of O2Amp, 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, and working on his next non-fiction book, FORCE OF EMOTION.

‘Harnessed’ appears in Korea

My most recent book, Harnessed, has now appeared in Korean translation, with tireless translator Seung Young Noh. For more info about the book, here’s a start: a review by Nobel laureate.

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Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, a managing director of O2Amp, 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, and working on his next non-fiction book, FORCE OF EMOTION.

O2Amp…[wait for it]…sunglasses!

Whether you like our O2Amp “Oxy-Iso” for its applications in medical, colorblindness, or sunwear (see below), you’ll be excited to get the technology in Smith frames if you’re one of our first 50 orders starting today.

For a limited time, our Oxy-Iso eyewear will be in Smith frames. …the first 50 orders beginning today.

We’ve been selling our O2Amp eyewear for medical and colorblindness purposes, but — the secret is — I have been wearing our technology for the last year for a different reason altogether. …as sunglasses.

Of our current three eyewear technologies, the Oxy-Iso has for me been the perfect sunglasses. Dark enough for sunny days, but what’s fantastic about it is that it enhances how everyone looks around me in a way that’s frankly a joy. We hadn’t anticipated this — this cosmetic side to our technology. Nor did we figure that one might actually enjoy this enhanced view of people and their emotional skin states. I personally love it!

The Oxy-Iso enhances and isolates perception of variations in the oxygenation of blood just under the skin of those around you, but it blocks perception of variations in the concentration of blood under the skin. People, and their skin, look better both for what the Oxy-Iso amplifies, and for what it blocks. Seeing the enhanced variations in oxygenation mimics, we believe, what younger skin looks like. And seeing less of the variations in the concentration of blood helps diminish perception of skin irregularities. In all, people somehow seem more brilliantly vital and alive, although that’s not doing it justice. (The world also turns out to look great.)

We now have prototype polarized, non-pink, sunglass versions of one of our other technologies, the Oxy-Amp, so it will soon also be a candidate for sunglasses. It is this Oxy-Amp technology that is a strict enhancement to our color vision, enhancing the oxygenation signal by blocking very narrow bands of noise coming from the skin. By shading the sun at these noisy bands, one shades the sun smartly in those bands that actually hinder what color vision is principally for. But, alas, these darker versions of the Oxy-Amp aren’t available quite yet.

But the Oxy-Iso makes a great pair or sunglasses, and is available now. In fact, starting today we have a promotion where the first 50 orders of the Oxy-Iso will be inside Smith frames rather than our usual frames.

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Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, a managing director of O2Amp, 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, and working on his next non-fiction book, FORCE OF EMOTION.

O2Amp on ABC’s This Could Be Big

ABC Nightline‘s Bill Weir talked with me about our O2Amp technology, and our Oxy-Iso’s ability to aid with colorblindness.

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Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, a managing director of O2Amp, 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, and working on his next non-fiction book, FORCE OF EMOTION.

The Ravenous Color-Blind: New Developments on O2Amp for Color-Deficients

“…the Oxy-Iso lens blew me away. All of a sudden, the numbers just appeared on the screen!” Debra Miller Arbesman. And… “Your O2Amp glasses just nearly eliminated my wife’s color blindness! It was incredible to watch her take those tests.” Samuel Arbesman, scientist, author of Half-Life of Facts, writer for WIRED

“Putting on the Oxy-Iso lenses is almost scary as it reveals clear and intentional color differences that I could not see at all. It reveals something everyone sees but me.” Luke Harrington

“I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed using your eyewear, especially the Oxy-Iso glasses. I now use them in all of my leg vein procedures . Being color blind makes finding deeper (reticular) cutaneous veins a challenge; the Oxy-Iso eyewear makes them much easier to see.” Daniel Friedmann, MD, Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery

“I found the red one [the purple Oxy-Iso] to be useful (or, at least, the one that my wife tells me is red!). It makes many colors more vivid, although what looks white without them has just the slightest tinge of pink through the lens. Compared to the other two, it’s much closer to what I have imagined that “normal” people see, and the colors match up with what I’m told they are.” Russell Belding

See more testimonials.

Buy them at Amazon.

Last year, as our O2Amp technology got into the hands of more and more users (mainly interested in their various medical applications), we began hearing back from many color-blind folk. One of our three technologies, they told us, gave them the surprising ability to distinguish reds and greens, exactly what their color-deficiency prevented them from seeing without our eyewear. In particular, the color-enhancing benefit came from our Oxy-Iso filter, which amplifies and isolates perception of oxygenation variations. Although we didn’t design our technology with color-deficients specifically in mind, we weren’t too surprised that the Oxy-Iso may help with with red-green color-deficiency. As I have argued in my research and my earlier book, Vision Revolution, our human variety of color vision evolved — above and beyond that found in other mammals — in order to sense these oxygenation variations, allowing us to sense color-signals on the skin (including blushes, blanches, as well as sensing health). So the Oxy-Iso filter concentrates its enhancement exactly where red-green color-blind folk are deficient.

Now Professor Daniel Bor, a red-green color-blind neuroscientist at the University of Sussex and author of The Ravenous Brain, has independently carried out experiments on himself to gauge the extent to which the Oxy-Iso is an aid. The results are very encouraging, helping us better grasp its benefits, and also its limitations. Below I have reproduced his testimonial and the results of his experiment.

RED-GREEN ENHANCEMENT — ISHIHARA PLATE TEST

This first communication occurred after Dan received the set of three distinct O2Amp eyewear technology (and, note, he was not informed that it is the Oxy-Iso, and not the other two technologies, where we expected a benefit for color-deficients):

“I’ve just received a couple of special specs to attempt to reduce my colour blindness, from Mark Changizi and O2Amp. When I first put one of them on [the Oxy-Iso,], I got a shiver of excitement at how vibrant and red lips, clothes and other objects around me seemed. I’ve just done a quick 8 plate Ishihara colour blindness test. I scored 0/8 without the specs (so obviously colour blind), but 8/8 with them on (normal colour vision)! I’m pretty thrilled and can’t wait to explore more of the world with the specs over the next few days.”

We’ve found similarly thrilled responses from many other color-deficients as well (for a sample, see the quotes at the start of this piece).

Later, Dan carried out more formal experiments with the Ishihara plates…

In terms of formal tests, the Ishihara plates are a radical change. I did this online test of the 38 Ishihara plates: http://www.colblindor.com/ishihara-38-plates-cvd-test/ . Without [the Oxy-Iso], I scored almost nothing, but with the specs got all the answers correct, I think.

The Oxy-Iso appears to bring unambiguous red-green enhancement to color-deficients.

And, it even does so for the perception of oxygenation in the skin — “And definitely the glasses still work, even with me, for their original purpose of enhancing the appearance of veins,” writes Dan — meaning that the Oxy-Iso should aid the (red-green) color-blind in their perception of emotional and health states in others. Color-blind doctors have long been known to be handicapped at sensing health states, see Supplementary Table 1 here.

OXY-ISO‘s COLOR DEFICITS IN OTHER AREAS

Our Oxy-Iso filter enhances red-green discriminations for color-deficients, but it does not do so without some compromises elsewhere in vision. We can see this clearly in Dan’s report…

“Having worn them for the evening, other parts of the spectrum definitely suffer – for instance, I thought the lime green light on the baby monitor was off when it was on. No problems seeing it when I took the specs off. But even if, having tried the specs for a few days (and especially outside in good daylight) I decide they aren’t worth permanent use, it’s been absolutely fantastic to get some temporary sense, for part of the spectrum, of what normal people see. For instance, having firmly believed that the light is green on the microwave I’ve had for 18 years, I’ve now discovered it is in fact blue.”

and

“My own experience with these specs is kind of similar to the formal results [see below]. Putting the specs on for the first time, I was amazed at how some colours really stood out for me. Lips usually almost seem similar to skin colour for me. But now they were so much more red and had a far greater contrast. Anything red was so much more vibrant and bright to me. Blue as well looked far more blue at times, especially if it previously had a greeny tinge to it for me. This was all very exciting. But also some colours looked a bit wrong. A yellowy-green light on my daughter’s baby monitor, easily seen without my specs, was now completely invisible. So some shades of yellow seemed to disappear with the specs, and so it was always clear to me that I had gained some part of the spectrum, but completely lost others, and on balance I kind of felt that I’d lost more than I’d gained. These wouldn’t be specs I’d wear all the time. But if I went to an art gallery or something like that, I’d definitely bring them with to wear then.”

This is important to emphasize: The Oxy-Iso filter amplifies the red-green discriminations color-deficients are lacking, but does so at the expense of their intact color perception and yellow-blue discrimination. In a sense, the Oxy-Iso spreads the color confusion more evenly around the color-wheel, rather than having it concentrated only on red-green. And, in this regard, the eyewear should not be worn when driving, because, for example, yellow lights will become nearly invisible.

[Note that our Oxy-Amp filter (see O2Amp) enhances color vision for color-normals, and does so not at the expense of other areas of color perception. Unlike the Oxy-Iso, the Oxy-Amp blocks only narrow wavelength bands of light responsible for noise coming from the oxygenation signals from skin. The Oxy-Amp provides a strict improvement to color vision for color-normals.]

FARNSWORTH-MUNSELL TEST

The Ishihara test helps gauge one’s deficits in discriminating between reds and greens, but doesn’t tell us what’s happening to color perception more broadly. From Dan’s (and other’s) first-person experience, it is obvious that other aspects of color perception are hindered by the Oxy-Iso, as we just saw above. To get clearer on these deficits, Dan took what is called the Farnsworth-Munsell test…

“So I got one of my interns to do a proper Farnsworth-Munsell test in the lab with the physical discs, so this should be much more reliable. That was surprisingly disappointing. Without the specs I scored 116, so clearly in the colour-blind range, but with the specs I scored 108, only slightly better and still very much within the colour-blindness range. I’ve attached the graphs of my pre (no specs) and post (specs) results on this test for you to have a look at.

Remember, this test measures one’s overall deficit in color. Because the Oxy-Iso enhances red-green discrimination but at the expense of yellow-blue discriminations, it is not too surprising that the overall score here is not too much different.

The Oxy-Iso‘s ability to somewhat spread red-green color-deficient’s deficits more uniformly around the color wheel is visible in the plots of Dan’s experiment. This first plot below shows where he has trouble making color-discriminations with his naked eye, and one can see two regions opposite one another where he has trouble, characteristic of (one variety of) red-green deficiency.

With the Oxy-Iso eyewear on, however, the characteristic red-green deficit is dampened considerably, but now there are new deficits (especially in the yellow regions), as you can see in the plot below. Compared to the plot above, the one below looks more rounded and evenly distributed.

And below are the above two plots combined into a single plot, for better comparison (courtesy Santiago Ortiz of http://moebio.com).

THE FUTURE

With the caveats and limitations in mind, the Oxy-Iso provides many red-green color-blind people with a revelatory insight into a perceptual dimension they have thus far lacked, the emotional and vitality-laced perceptual color dimension that is new to us humans and some other primates.

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Some press stories on the O2Amp and colorblindness: 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”, Parade I, Parade II.

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Mark Changizi is Director of Human Cognition at 2AI, a managing director of O2Amp, 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, and working on his next non-fiction book, FORCE OF EMOTION.

O2Amp on Television

Our O2Amp technology appeared on Discovery Channel’s
Daily Planet [skip to 4:00] television show (Jan 9, 2013, Part 3).

We also were covered at EMONOME by filmmaker Emon Hassan.