• PUBLICATION OF HANDBOOK COINCIDES WITH WORLD SIGHT DAY AND CALIFORNIA STATE BLUE LIGHT RESOLUTION
• EYESAFE ALSO ANNOUNCES MAJOR BLUE LIGHT HEALTH AND SAFETY RESEARCH INITIATIVE WITH SALUS UNIVERSITY
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OCTOBER 8th, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS, MN and PHILADELPHIA, PA. // Today, on the campus of Salus University, one of the world’s premier schools of optometry, Eyesafe, the global leader in high energy visible blue light filtration technology and health and safety standards for digital devices, announced the publication and release of the world’s first comprehensive handbook covering both the health hazards of blue light as well as an overview of available protective solutions for the electronics display industry. The handbook, entitled “How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age,” is authored by many of the world’s leading optometrists, ophthalmologists, and scientists, and covers an array of topics related to the perils and proactive steps the industry is taking in tackling this emerging public health issue that impacts over 5 billion people worldwide.
“How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age” was developed with input from over 250 internationally recognized eye doctors, color scientists and display engineers. The handbook provides the latest information on blue light and device use health impacts for users, healthcare providers and digital display manufacturers.
“For the first time, leading optometrists, ophthalmologists, light scientists, researchers, and policy specialists have come together to literally ‘write the book’ on the hazards and solutions for managing blue light emissions,” said Eyesafe® CEO Justin Barrett. “This handbook is written for professionals across eye care and leaders in the electronics industry, but it is dedicated to the millions of parents, educators, and business leaders concerned about the long-term health impact of extended exposure to unfiltered blue light. This is a serious public health issue and today marks a pivotal moment in the industry’s efforts to better protect us all in the digital age.”
The release of the “How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age” was at Salus University before an audience of distinguished faculty, researchers and students at an event in which Eyesafe CEO Justin Barrett was joined by Salus University President, Michael H. Mittelman, OD, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, and Salus University’s Head of Research, Dr. Mitch Scheiman, OD, PhD, in signing an agreement between Eyesafe and Salus to conduct further research into the impact of blue light emissions from electronic displays on human health, the results of which will be shared at upcoming events in the electronics industry and in “How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age, Second Edition,” slated for publication in 2020.
“Screen time and exposure to blue light are important issues that merit deliberate investigation,” said Salus University’s Head of Research, Dr. Mitch Scheiman. “Our agreement signed with Eyesafe brings together the global leader in blue light filtration technology and standards with a leading college of optometry to study and issue with near universal impacts. We are pleased that Eyesafe has chosen Salus as its research partner for continued study of this important health issue.”
The release of “How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age” comes on a pivotal day for blue light awareness; both the California State Senate and State Assembly, by unanimous vote in both chambers, passed the ‘Blue Light Resolution,’ California Resolution SCR73, which aims to raise awareness around the hazards of overexposure to high energy visible (HEV) blue light emitted from electronics devices. The measure, , sponsored by Dr. Richard Pan, chair of the California Senate Committee on Health, was introduced as a first step in bringing awareness to the increasingly body evidence coming out from the medical community regarding the impacts of extended exposure to artificial HEV blue light emitted from electronics devices. In a statement released yesterday, Senator Pan, who is also a pediatrician, said “The impact of high energy blue light emissions on children is a significant health concern.”
The growing crescendo of concern among eye care professionals, lawmakers and regulators, the media and the public in general about the dangers of blue light was the impetus for Eyesafe’s decision to bring together leading doctors to talk about high energy visible (HEV) blue light in one unified volume. From its onset, Eyesafe has been on the forefront of research, the development of protective standards, and protective technologies for the electronics industry as it relates to the hazards associated with extended exposure to blue light emissions from displays. The company’s signature suite of technologies and standards, known as Eyesafe, are considered the gold standard in the electronics industry for blue light filtration and protection. Eyesafe works with leading manufacturers including Dell and ZAGG, the world’s leading screen protector company, in providing protective blue light filtration solutions and standards for their consumers.
Institutions and Individuals interested in obtaining “How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age” can visit Eyesafe.com/Handbook to learn more.
About the Blue Light Handbook for Eye Care and Electronics
With contributions from world-recognized leaders in healthcare and consumer electronics, “How to Save Your Eyes in the Digital Age” is the go-to source for the latest information on blue light. If you use digital displays, or your children do, you will find here important guidance about eye and health protection. Healthcare providers and developers of digital displays can learn about Eyesafe® standards, requirements and solutions by visiting Eyesafe.com/Handbook.
About Eyesafe:
Eyesafe (www.Eyesafe.com), the company formerly known as Healthe, is a worldwide supplier of Eyesafe® standards, Eyesafe® technology and Eyesafe® display, a suite of pioneering products and services that are shaping the consumer electronics industry’s understanding of device usage, screen time, and the impacts of blue light-emitting devices. Eyesafe® technology and the associated intellectual property portfolio was developed by a world-class team of eye doctors, engineers and scientists with decades of experience in electronics, display materials, and light management. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Eyesafe works to develop technologies and standards in conjunction with leaders in healthcare.
About Salus University
Salus University (www.salus.edu), founded as the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1919, today is a diversified, globally recognized professional academic center of learning that offers a wide range of degree programs in the professions of Optometry, Audiology, Physician Assistant, Public Health, Blindness and Low Vision Studies, Biomedicine, Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology. Salus operates four clinical facilities in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties that provide highly specialized vision, hearing and balance, and speech-language pathology services. The University has more than 1,200 students, and more than 14,000 alumni worldwide.