Colorimetry
Unlock your potential with colour
What is Colorimetry?
Colorimetry uses coloured optical filters to alleviate patient symptoms of visual discomfort, which often occur in both adults and children when reading.
Examples of visual discomfort can be described as movement of print and visual rivers, which negatively affects concentration levels and comprehension. This is known as visual stress. The condition is estimated to be present in about 40 % of poor readers and in 20 % of the general population in varying degrees.
The following symptoms indicate you may be suffering from visual stress:
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Tired when reading
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Letters changing size or shape
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Halos of colour surrounding letters of words
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Red, sore, watery eyes
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Blurring of print
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Patterns on print
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Tiring easily when reading
Find your solution
At Suzanne Dennis Optometrist in Standish we are specialists in Colorimetry examinations.
Acknowledged world-wide as the defining colour system that can provide one hundred thousand colour combinations.
The Intuitive Colorimeter is used extensively by vision professionals in the UK and throughout the world. Under the direction of our Optometrist, we guide patients in selecting an ophthalmic tint that reduces discomfort and perceptual distortion. An examination with the Colorimeter lasts about 20 minutes and enables the effects of hue, saturation and brightness to be explored systematically and efficiently whilst the eyes remain colour adapted. With the help of proprietary software, tinted trial lenses are then combined to assess the clinical benefits of the chosen colour under conventional lighting.
The shades available enable the tint to be precisely tailored to an individual’s needs. The prescribed tint is reproduced precisely in specially designed laboratories.
The system also allows for alternative colour combinations for use under different lighting conditions and includes UV and Blue Light transmissions. It also takes account of the effects of colour on traffic signals.
Coloured overlays
Following your eye test, we will experiment with the use of coloured overlays to identify whether visual stress is present.
They are an essential aid for vision professionals as the first step in identifying Visual Stress.
Coloured Overlays are used widely both in the classroom and by vision professionals in practice. Moderate to significant improvements in both reading rate and accuracy are not uncommon when the optimum overlay is prescribed. Overlays are coloured sheets of robust transparent plastic that are placed over a page of text when reading. The assessment pack consists of 12 overlays of different colours. The colours have shades that differ systematically. The variety of shades is sufficient to provide a shade optimal for each individual. Assessment involves the presentation of each overlay in turn for comparison with others placed beside it. The assessment can be carried out by our specialised vision professional.
The Overlay Testing Set includes the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test, which measures reading speed independently of language comprehension. It quantifies the improvement in reading.
Precision tinted lenses
Precision Tinted Lens prescribed from the Colorimeter are reproduced precisely from specially dedicated laboratories. The core lens material used in the process is the safe CR39 plastic (allyl diglycol carbonate). The Precision Tinted Lenses are dyed to a degree of accuracy not found in ophthalmic tinting.
They are scanned using a calibrated spectrophotometer linked to a Medical Research Council software programme ensuring accuracy of the prescribed colour. Any requirement for refractive prescription can be incorporated in the tinted lenses. Each pair of prescribed Precision Tinted Lenses has an accompanying Certificate of Authenticity.
Testimonials
"The improvement in K's school work is tenfold. Within six months of receiving her lenses she had gone from a reading age of seven to 10 years. K’s teachers and us as parents were amazed. She is flying ahead in class and did remarkably well in her recent exams. She is now considered to have reached her appropriate grade level. Her confidence both at school and home is greatly improved.
K now loves to read in bed, can read a menu when we visit a restaurant, tell the time, read information on a board, all the things a normal 11 year old can do. BRILLIANT."
Paul Adler, father of Karis
“Wearing tints has totally changed my son’s life, he no longer has headaches or feels sick after a lot of reading.
His English grade at school went up two grades in a term and all his school work has improved very significantly. Listening to him read is like listening to a different child and his handwriting has improved.
The best result of this is that his confidence has doubled in the short time he has been using overlays and his tints. If the government doesn’t think this exists they should come and talk to the parents and teachers of the children involved and they would see what a difference tints make to their lives.”
Julie, mother of Sam, aged 10