AACHEN, Germany & BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VORSCHUB at RWTH Aachen University today announced that colourblind students and staff will now be able to borrow EnChroma colourblind glasses on campus to help them overcome the obstacles to learning and everyday life that colour vision deficiency (CVD) poses. With more than 47,000 students, RWTH Aachen is the largest technical university in Germany.
One in twelve men (8%) and one in 200 women (0.5%) are colourblind – approximately 3.6 million in Germany, 30 million in Europe and 350 million worldwide. With over 47,000 students, and nearly 10,000 faculty and staff, an estimated 2,400 people at RWTH Aachen University are color blind.
While people with normal colour vision see over one million shades and hues of colour, colourblind people see only an estimated 10% of them. To the red-green colour blind, colours appear dull and washed out, with some difficult to distinguish from each other. Common colour confusions include green and yellow, grey and pink, purple and blue, and red and brown. Eighty percent of information is conveyed visually and often contains important information in colours that can confuse or frustrate colourblind people, including in educational materials.
VORSCHUB at RWTH Aachen University joins the University of Hamburg as the first European universities to align with numerous prestigious universities in the US in supporting the needs of colour blind students via the EnChroma Colour Accessibility Programme. This Program is already helping colour blind students at Boston University, North Carolina State University, Penn State University, Alfred University and others. Nearly 200 public institutions – including major museums, libraries, parks, gardens and tourism departments – offer the glasses to colourblind patrons and students.
"Colour vision deficiency can cause challenges for colour blind students in their studies," says Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma. "We are very pleased that VORSCHUB at RWTH Aachen University is making its campus more accessible for those with colour vision deficiency by loaning EnChroma glasses. We hope that more universities and schools will follow RWTH Aachen’s example to support colour blind students and adapt learning materials to avoid colours that are problematic for them to see."
Click here to see more images of RWTH Aachen University as they appear to colour blind people and images of colors in typical schoolwork.
Special optical filters in EnChroma glasses help colourblind people perceive a wider range of colours and to see colours more vividly, clearly and distinctly. A study by the University of California, Davis, and INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, confirmed the effectiveness of EnChroma glasses. A separate recent study in the scientific publication Eye-Nature also highlights the benefits of the glasses for people with colour vision deficiencies.
EnChroma Colour Accessibility Program
EnChroma is the leading advocate for accessibility for those with colour blindness. The Program helps public institutions such as schools, universities, libraries, museums and other institutions loan EnChroma glasses to colourblind people. The company donates a pair of glasses for every pair an organization purchases. In addition, EnChroma provides materials for educational institutions to educate teachers, students and parents about colour blindness and its effects. EnChroma also offers a similar Program for employers. Public institutions interested in participating in the EnChroma Program can send an email to accessibility@enchroma.com.
About EnChroma
Based in Berkeley, Calif., EnChroma produces leading-edge eyewear for color blindness and low vision, and other solutions for color vision, sold online and through Authorized Retailers worldwide. Invented in 2010, EnChroma’s patented eyewear combines the latest in color perception, neuroscience and lens innovation to improve the lives of people with color vision deficiency around the world. EnChroma received an SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It earned the 2016 Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration in recognition of the firm’s innovative impact on the human experience through technology, and the 2020 Innovation Award in Life Sciences from the Bay Area’s East Bay Economic Development Alliance. Visit enchroma.com to learn more.
