VCOM-Louisiana showcases EnChroma Eyewear solution for people with color vision deficiencies

KEDM Public Radio

Published June 2, 2023 at 11:40 AM EDT

A simulation from the Neitz lab of what colorblindness looks like, with normal color vision on the left and red-green colorblindness on the right.

MONROE, La. – Four color blind VCOM-Louisiana medical students saw the world in color for the first time with special EnChroma glasses for color blindness. An event at VCOM showcased the special glasses on Friday morning.

One in 12 men (8%) and one in 200 women (.5%) are color blind – 13 million in the US,over nearly 200,000 in Louisiana, and 350 million people worldwide. VCOM is the first college or university in Louisiana to offer EnChroma glasses to color blind students.

While people with normal color vision see over one million hues and shades, the color blind only see 10% of them. To color blind people, the world appears gray, dull, washed out and some colors are indistinguishable; purple and blue look the same; red appears brown; pink is gray; and green looks tan or gray. In their medical studies color blind students must look at color-stained histology slides, color-coded charts, medications and more, all of which can cause confusion or slow them down due to color blindness.