People with photosensitive epilepsy may soon be able to watch TV without worry. Scientists in the UK have developed glasses that can block certain wavelengths of light that cause seizures.
According to Tekna Technology Medical Scientific News, it is estimated that about one person out of every 4,000 people has photosensitive epilepsy, and as the name suggests, their seizures are triggered by light. Intermittent flashing patterns, such as those found in clubs, emergency vehicles, television, movies, and video games, can all be arousing if they have the right combination of brightness, frequency, and wavelength.
Now scientists at the Universities of Glasgow and Birmingham have developed glasses that could help reduce the risk. The lenses are designed to block almost all light with wavelengths between 660 and 720 nm. The area of red light involved in the famous Pokemon incident of 1997 that caused hundreds of viewers to have seizures.
These lenses contain liquid crystals that change their optical properties in response to heat. In this case, the eyeglass frames have a small circuit that heats the lenses up to 36.5°C (97.7°F), which causes them to reflect certain wavelengths of red light.
The idea is that people can wear them outside most of the time with normal vision, but can turn them on while watching TV or playing video games without worrying about a reaction. Previous studies have used colored lenses to achieve a similar effect, but these lenses only filtered about 50 percent of the target’s red light. Additionally, they don’t turn on and off, so they affect the wearer’s color vision in all situations rather than those with a high seizure risk. In its current form, the glasses can only work in environments up to 26°C (78.8°F), so that’s something the team plans to continue working on. In addition, they want to reduce their activation time. To see other news, refer to Tekna scientific news page.
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