A comparison of blue-light transmissions through blue-control lenses

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Summary

Blue-control lenses vary substantially in how much blue light they transmit, with no industry consensus on optimal filtering levels, making lens selection for blue-light protection inconsistent. Lighting designers and healthcare professionals recommending blue-light mitigation strategies should be aware that lens labeling alone may not reliably indicate the degree of protection provided.

Key Findings

For wavelengths below 460 nm, blue-light transmission through 10 tested lenses ranged from 48% to 69% — a difference of more than 20% between lenses.
For wavelengths between 460 nm and 500 nm, transmission ranged from 33% to 55%, again exceeding a 20% spread across lenses.
In the narrower 480–500 nm range, transmission ranged from approximately 71% to 83%, a ~12% difference between lenses.
No industry standard exists for what percentage of blue light should be reflected or transmitted, resulting in wide variability across manufacturers.

Categories

Eye Health & Vision: Directly measures spectral transmittance of blue-control lenses across 300–500 nm wavelength range, relevant to eye protection from blue light exposure.

The Science of Light: Provides quantitative spectral transmission data for blue-light filtering lenses, informing understanding of how optical interventions modify blue light exposure.