TÜV Announces New Standard for Blue Light Certification of Accessory Screen Protection with Eye Safety Leader Healthe
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (May 9, 2018)
TÜV Rheinland, one of the world’s largest independent testing service providers has created a new light filtration standard for digital accessory screen protection, in collaboration with Healthe, a world leader in eye health for consumer electronics. The new TÜV standard specifically provides customers a Retina Protection Factor or RPF, an easy to use guide that measures and identifies the level of high-energy visible blue light being filtered from a device display. More about the TÜV RPF standard at Eyesafe.com/TUV.
The TUV RPF standard was developed through a collaboration between TUV, Healthe and several globally recognized organizations from the eye care community. Recent studies have shown growing concerns over potential long-term eye health impacts from digital screen usage and cumulative blue light exposure (CF. Blue Light Exposure Research & Sources). While the new blue light rating will greatly assist all consumers, it will be especially be helpful to high-risk groups such as children and seniors.
“Importantly, the TUV RPF Standard provides transparency for the customer. Filtering especially the harmful blue light spectrum of 415-455nm is of importance given the research (9), along with maintaining color quality of the display”, said Dr. David Friess, internationally recognized optometrist specializing in impacts of blue light and Chief Clinical Officer at Healthe. “This part of the light spectrum is weighted more heavily in existing publications and research.”
The new certification measures the level of protection based on the Spectral Weighting Factors for Blue-Light Hazard as published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in 2013 and adopted by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) in 2015.
The TUV standard is widely supported by leading eye care organizations including CEDARS/ASPENS, Prevent Blindness and the Vision Council. Additionally, numerous eye doctors worldwide have expressed their strong support for a Blue Light filtering standard. Christopher Quinn, O.D. from the American Optometric Association said, “The TUV RPF Standard provides important guidance for customers and direction for the Screen Protection industry to manage blue light filtration”.
To learn more about the TUV RPF Certification and RPF Display technology, please visit TUV.com/Eyesafe. Manufactures attaining the TUV RPF standard can communicate and highlight to customers the level of blue light filtration of its products.
About Healthe:
Healthe (www.health-e.com) is a Minneapolis-based company with the mission of designing and developing Eyesafe® products, technologies and standards for digital devices in conjunction with the medical community for a global audience. Healthe’s products are designed to provide relief for frequent users of digital technology from prolonged exposure to harmful artificial UV and high-energy visible blue light. Through proprietary HEV blue light blocking screen covers and glass, Healthe provides advanced products that make artificial digital light more like natural light. To learn more about Eyesafe® products, please visit www.Eyesafe.com.
About TÜV Rheinland:
TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in independent inspection services and currently the largest independent service provider that combines ICT competency with comprehensive expertise regarding the industry, and whose core business has been to provide technical safety and security to people and the environment around the world for more than 140 years.
The group maintains a worldwide presence with 19,600 employees; annual turnover is nearly EUR 1.9 billion. The independent experts stand for quality and safety for people, technology and the environment in nearly all aspects of life. TÜV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects and helps to shape processes for companies. For more than 15 years, TÜV Rheinland has been supporting the private and public sector with comprehensive consulting and solution expertise in IT, cybersecurity and telecommunications through digital transformation processes.
Sources
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- 3. American Psychological Association, Children and Electronic Media: How Much is Too Much? http://www.apa.org/pi/about/newsletter/2015/06/electronic-media.aspx, June 2015.
- 4. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Light-emitting diodes, (LED) for domestic lighting: Any risks for the eye? F. Behar-Cohen, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21600300, May 14, 2011.
- 5. American Optometric Association, The 21st Century Child: Increased Technology Use May Lead to Future Eye Health and Vision Issues www.aoa.org/newsroom/the-21st-century-child-increased-technology-use-may-lead-to-future-eye-health-and-vision-issues, July 28, 2015.
- 6. The Vision Council, Eyes Overexposed: The Digital Device Dilemma, http://2014.thevisioncouncil.org/sites/default/files/2416_VC_2016EyeStrain_Report_WEB.pdf, January 6, 2016.
- 7. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness, Chang AM, Aeschbach D, Duffy JF, Czeisler CA, http://www.pnas.org/content/112/4/1232.abstract, November 26, 2014.
- 8. NPJ Aging Mechanisms of Disease, Hatori M, et al. Global rise of potential health hazards caused by blue light-induced circadian disruption in modern aging societies. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-017-0010-2, June 16, 2017.
- 9. Gianluca T, Ian F, Kazuo T, Effects of Blue Light on The Circadian System and Eye Physiology, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4734149/, January 24, 2016.
- 10. PLOS One, Phototoxic Action Spectrum on a Retinal Pigment Epithelium Model of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Exposed to Sunlight Normalized Conditions, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071398, August 23, 2016
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