Better Vision Through Shaded Contacts?

If they can make a shortstop see the ball better off the hitter’s bat, could Nike MAXSIGHT colored contact lenses help a pilot pick out potentially conflicting traffic or see the runway better on an ILS approach? The sports megalith, in conjunction with Bausch and Lomb, has developed contact lenses in both prescription and non-prescription formats that it claims help athletes perform better. Two “sports-specific” tints have been developed that are said to improve key aspects of vision on the field and court and, from the product description, it seems like they might help in the cockpit, too. According to the product literature, the lenses filter “specific wavelengths of light to visually enhance key elements in sport, such as a ball, filtering most of the blue light and manipulating the remaining colors of the visible spectrum to enhance critical details in the sporting environment.” The lenses are also said to give athletes “an exceptional view of contours on a given field of play, reduced sun glare and the ability to track fast-moving game activity under variable light conditions.” The lenses must be fitted by an eye care professional and are scheduled to be available at optical shops in late summer.