The science behind seeing more color
Is there scientific evidence that color blind glasses work? Yes. A 2022 clinical study by the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry, published in Nature's journal Eye, found that EnChroma glasses produced immediate, measurable improvements in color vision — improvements that persisted even after participants stopped wearing them.
Last reviewed: August 2026
The University of the Incarnate Word study
Thirteen subjects with red-green color vision deficiency wore EnChroma glasses daily for 11–14 days. Researchers measured their color vision before and after — and found gains in color detection, color naming, and even the brain's color-processing signals.
Who conducted it
A research team at the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry led by Dr. Jeff Rabin, Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, Research and Assessment, with eight co-authors.
Where it was published
As a Brief Communication in Eye, a peer-reviewed Springer Nature journal, in February 2022.
What was measured
Cone contrast sensitivity (colors visible only to red, green, or blue cones), color naming accuracy, and visually evoked potentials (VEPs) — brainwaves showing how the brain's color centers respond.
What it found
Color vision improved immediately — and the improvement persisted at least 12 days after subjects stopped wearing the glasses. Cone-specific brainwave gains suggest the lenses activate neural mechanisms of color perception, not just tint the view.
"Our results indicate that EnChroma lenses can improve color vision and quality of life in some individuals with color vision deficiency."— Dr. Jeff Rabin, UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry
In one case report from the research, a 66-year-old patient with a severe red-cone deficiency showed a three- to five-fold improvement in daytime and outdoor color vision at his six-month follow-up visit.
The published research on EnChroma lenses
EnChroma lens technology has been examined in at least nine peer-reviewed publications. Studies that measure real-world color perception — vividness, chromatic response, brain adaptation — find measurable enhancement. Studies that measure scores on diagnostic screening tests generally find little change. Both are consistent with what the lenses are designed to do: enhance color appearance, not alter test results.
Adaptive Changes in Color Vision from Long-Term Filter Usage in Anomalous but Not Normal Trichromacy
Werner et al. · UC Davis Eye Center & INSERM · Current Biology, 2020 — two weeks of wear enhanced chromatic response, with gains persisting even when tested without the glasses.
Read the study → Color Perception · Brainwave-VerifiedUniversity of the Incarnate Word study of EnChroma spectral filters
Rabin et al. · UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry · Eye (Nature), 2022 — immediate improvement persisting 12+ days after wear, with cone-specific brainwave gains.
Read the study → Clinical · Prospective StudyImpact of EnChroma glasses on red-green color vision deficiency: a prospective study
Mouffokes & Baillif · University Hospital of Nice · Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2024.
Read the study → Vision Science · Empirical TestsEmpirical tests of the effectiveness of EnChroma multi-notch filters for enhancing color vision in deuteranomaly
Somers et al. · Vision Research, 2024.
Read the study → Vision Science · ModelingPredicted effectiveness of EnChroma multi-notch filters for enhancing color perception in anomalous trichromats
Somers et al. · Vision Research, 2024.
Read the study → Clinical · Efficacy EvaluationEvaluation of the Efficacy of EnChroma Filters for Correcting Color Vision Impairment
Journal of Pioneering Medical Sciences, 2024.
Read the study → Diagnostic TestingDo EnChroma glasses improve color vision for colorblind subjects?
Gómez-Robledo et al. · University of Granada · Optics Express, 2018 — found no improvement on diagnostic color vision tests.
Read the study → Diagnostic TestingCharacterizing the Effects of EnChroma Glasses on Color Discrimination
Optometry and Vision Science, 2020 — no measured gains on color discrimination tasks.
Read the study → Diagnostic TestingDo EnChroma glasses improve performance on clinical tests for red-green color deficiencies?
Pattie et al., 2022 — no improvement on Ishihara and D-15 screening tests.
Read the study →A note on the differing results. The diagnostic-testing studies above evaluated whether EnChroma glasses change scores on clinical screening tests such as the Ishihara plates — something the lenses are not designed to do, and EnChroma does not claim they do. The placebo-controlled UC Davis study and the UIW brainwave study measured what the lenses are designed for: how vividly and distinctly wearers perceive color in the real world. EnChroma welcomes independent research and links to it here so readers can evaluate the full picture.
How EnChroma lenses work
About 80% of color blind people have anomalous trichromacy: their red and green cone cells respond to overlapping wavelengths of light, so the brain receives ambiguous color signals. EnChroma's patented lenses filter out the exact wavelengths where that overlap is greatest.
Think of it like an equalizer that cuts the frequencies causing interference. With a cleaner separation between red and green signals reaching the brain, many wearers experience dramatically more vivid, distinct color.
The visible spectrum. The moving window marks the band of wavelengths — where red and green cone responses overlap most — that EnChroma lenses selectively filter to restore color contrast.
Who the research applies to — and who it doesn't
EnChroma glasses are designed for partial red-green color blindness (deuteranomaly and protanomaly) — about 4 in 5 cases. They are not designed for complete dichromacy (protanopia/deuteranopia) or blue-yellow (tritan) deficiency.
Color blindness is a spectrum, and no lens can help every type — EnChroma states this openly. Results vary with individual severity, genetics, and lighting. The free two-minute EnChroma Color Blind Test identifies your type and severity, and every purchase includes a 60-day money-back guarantee so results can be verified risk-free.
Do EnChroma glasses cure color blindness? No — inherited color blindness has no cure, and EnChroma does not claim otherwise. The glasses are an assistive technology that enhances color perception. What the UIW research adds is evidence that consistent wear may also train the brain's color-processing pathways, producing benefits that outlast the glasses themselves.
Find out if EnChroma glasses
will work for you
Take the free two-minute color blind test to identify your type and severity — then try any pair risk-free for 60 days.