Team 24

Notorious RGB: Color Corrective Contact Lenses

Team Members: Erik Halsband, Mikaela Hatfield, Amelia Ikuta & Carlie Rein

Team Mentors: Vincent Pizziconi, PhD - SBHSE

YouTube Link: View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom Link: https://asu.zoom.us/j/85146974554

Abstract

Color blindness is an optical impairment, caused by a genetic defect which results in a decreased effectiveness of the rods and cones which detect certain wavelengths of light, commonly known as color perception. Because the defect is on the X chromosome, the majority of people affected are male. In patients with colorblindness, this can cause difficulty discerning between certain colors. Current solutions include costly sunglasses to alter the vision, or simply working around this handicap. This could include memorizing where colors are in stoplights, charts, and other color-coded indicators found everywhere in daily life. In this study, we create a color corrective contact lens for everyday use to allow an individual see the full color spectrum. This is done through a light filtration system which shifts the wavelengths for the target color, so that the eye is able to detect that color. This is a rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lens with a treatment that will enhance the color perception of patients with colorblindness. It will be compatible with RG and BY colorblindness. The hope for the product is to integrate the filter with a patient’s individual eye prescription with the full color spectrum. This has previously been achieved in two methods, one such utilizing a rhodamine based dye and another utilizing plasmonic metasurfaces, which are surfaces made of subwavelength items that are tunable to a desired optic response.