01 July 2021
The founder of Ocushield will appear on BBC’s Dragon’s Den tonight (9pm, 1 July) hoping to secure investment for the company that produces medical-grade blue-light filtering screen protectors.
Pitching to ‘Dragons’ Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Tej Lalvani, optometrist Dhruvin Patel appears in the ‘Den’ alongside business partner Asad Hamir.
Patel explained that in founding Ocushuield, the goal “has always been about enabling people to live a healthier life with the increasing amount of digital technology.”
“Ocushield is a UK business, but there are many more people out there that could benefit from the blue-light protecting screens,” Patel added.
Speaking about his appearance on the programme, Patel told OT: “It means so much to me that Ocushield was even considered for Dragon’s Den, a programme that dominated TV when I was growing up and which I admired from afar.”
Patel established Ocushield when he was an undergraduate studying optometry at City, University of London in 2015. During his studies, Patel worked part-time at Vision Express and noticed emerging new lens technology that was being developed to reduce the amount of blue light that is emitted from digital devices reaching the consumer.
Today Ocushield products are available in Superdrug Opticians, Best Buy, Nordstrom, URBN Outfitters, Maplin, Robert Dyas and Office Depot.
The episode can be watched online.
Comments (6)
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Anonymous04 July 2021
Fantastic to see a fellow Optometrist on my favourite show Dragons Den. I used to hold the typical view that "there's no evidence to support this" and leave it at that. But after speaking to so many patients who have purchased similar products, especially since working from home, alot of the feedback is that they have noticed that they really help when using VDU's. Surely then this is something that we Optometrists should be looking into and recommending for our patients. I now tell my colleagues to look into this topic yourself and look at the research that is now out there regarding blue light. It will take a while for these products to be accepted by the majority of optometrists, especially after the over selling of this product that has happened in the past by some of the multiples but surely we are here to help our patients. And if patients are using products that they do find help and Optometrists are not recommending them then surely we are failing them. I now always have an open discussion around this topic with my patients.
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Anonymous04 July 2021
I am a practitioner and have experience many cases where patients have bought blue light filtering glasses for their excessive VDU use and have told me how they feel less strain and fatigue on their eyes especially during the lockdown where they’ve been doing more screen work than they would’ve been doing in the office and each patient has unequivocally noticed a huge difference. They took heed of my advice to take their regular VDU breaks but have found the their blue light filter glasses have really helped them throughout the “work from home” protocol. I was initially a pessimist of this product and I thought I’d try the filter myself and also gave the filter to my partner who uses a large monitor throughout the day and found that we both noticed very positive results. Now I do understand that I can’t give values and figures to identify and categorise my reduced discomfort from the screen but anecdotally it really has made a difference to my partner and I. I will continue to use it and I will definitely recommend it to my patients based on my own experience of it! I hope to see more positive research on the matter and believe that Ocushield has the right idea and the right approach to healthcare for our eyes.
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Anonymous04 July 2021
It was so great to see the issue of blue light getting the air time on a show like Dragons Den.
As an Optometrist, I’m seeing an increasing number of patients asking about the effects of blue light and what they can do about it.
Although there isn’t lots of research currently out there on the long terms effects of blue light on us, there is no doubt in my mind that limiting the amount of blue light exposure will reduce eye strain and better help our sleep cycle. It’s something I have experienced myself and so have my patients.
Great work Dhruvin Patel and the rest of the team, congrats!!
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Dhruvin04 July 2021
Hi peers, Dhruvin Patel here - the founder of Ocushield.
As someone who has researched this topic from 2013, I want to help clarify some of the confusion around blue light in the profession.
There are now numerous pieces of evidence on the blue light topic which advocate blue light limitation for both reducing visual stress and improving sleep latency as well as damage to skin. I would suggest exploring multiple journals for some peer-reviewed papers which show both for and against blue light intervention. I would be happy to share these with any members who get in touch. Our website has a white paper which also showcases some of this, can be found in the footer.
The COO & AOP have their stance on no evidence on blue light, but it is out dated in my eyes. We as eye care professionals have a duty to share the latest research to our patients and provide the best products/services which can help users in an ever changing digital world.
May I remind you, what happened with Boots Opticians and Vision Express 4 years ago was due to the “mis-selling" some staff in store did mentioning blue light from screens would cause blindness which of course is a very strong claim which Ocushield does not make.
Many optical practices and optometrists already continue to recommend blue light filter coatings on prescription lenses (Hoya, Essilor etc) to beat digital eye strain, Ocushield products filter up to 56% of harmful blue light in some instances, where coatings on glasses only up to 19%. This is not to say even 19% reduction can help reduce symptoms associated with blue light when it comes to eye fatigue.
A qualified expert in this space and a supporter for blue light awareness is Prof Shelby Temple, an Honorary Professor, Aston University, School of Optometry and honorary senior research associate, University of Bristol, with 25 years’ experience as a visual neuroscientist. Please see his feedback below on the AOP/COO stance specifically to do with blue light causing eye diseases/damage which he has given permission for me to share.
“I find the AOP advice around blue light on the AOP webpage “screen time facts for parents” to be, not only lacking, but factually inaccurate and not in the best interest of your members.
As a scientist, I fully agree that there is no conclusive evidence (e.g. double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study in humans) that blue light filtering lenses will offer protection against advanced ageing of the macula or AMD. Longterm studies required to collect such evidence are simply not possible so we should not wait for the type of evidence that the NHS would use to recommend a new treatment. Of course, we also do not have controlled studies to show that cigarette smoking causes cancer or that sunlight exposure causes skin cancer. And yet we have the same types and levels of evidence that blue light is a risk factor for retinal degeneration as exists for smoking/UV light and cancer.
Statements like, “there is currently no scientific evidence that blue light causes damage to the eyes.” and “there is also no evidence that these kinds of coatings prevent eye disease.” are just wrong.
At a very least the statement about blue light causing damage should be qualified to state that “there is no conclusive evidence that blue light from digital devices causes damage to the eyes”. Because not doing so implies that blue light in general is not dangerous and there is a wealth of evidence cited that shows so.
The International Organization for Standardisation (ISO), the same people who put in place the UV400 guidelines for sunglasses have recently started a similar process for blue light filtering lenses and have recognised the dangers present in short wavelength high energy visible (violet-blue, 370-455 nm) light.
FACT: Blue light filtering lenses are effective at reducing the amount of blue (370-455 nm) light that reaches the eye and are therefore an appropriate choice for anybody looking to add a layer of protection to their spectacles that WILL reduce the blue light reaching their eyes and therefore WILL reduce the cumulative photochemical damage caused by blue light through life.
The fact that the AOP would appear to be actively discouraging patients from using/purchasing protective products from your members seems to go against your main purpose “We support … optometrists to … protect the nation’s eye health. We protect, support and represent our members throughout their careers”.
I also take issues with the fact that your “Tips for keeping your child’s eyes healthy” recommends that they spend time outdoors, but does not recommend that they wear sunglasses, which are known to help protect our eyes from dangerous radiation including UV and blue light. I find it remarkable that the AOP, which represents professional optometrists, would not recommend the very best thing to keep children’s eyes healthy and help their paying members…SUNGLASSES.
Especially since you are recommending that they play outdoors. Are you not aware that children have a highly UV-Blue transparent cornea and lens before the age of 10. You are recommending that they go out unprotected and exposure themselves to short wavelength electromagnetic radiation without eye protection. In Australia, children are not allowed to go to school without sunglasses, hat and sun-cream. Surely, we in the UK should be just as forward thinking?”.
I hope the above information helps fellow professionals gather an insight into the topic, but I do advocate you all to do research and recommend our professional bodies to fund further research in this area to aid our understandings where needed.
At Ocushield, we are currently doing a clinical trial with Aston University on the ability to help reduce blue light contributing problems (such as eye fatigue and sleep deprivation) to add to our Class 1 Medical Device registration with MHRA and our third-party testing (SGS, RoHS) to show the products efficacy.
For any professionals or organisations who would like to reach out or learn more, you can contact me via LinkedIn or the Ocushield website - messages clearly labelled for myself will find their way to me.
Kind regards
Dhruvin Patel
Optometrist & Founder
Ocushield
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Anonymous02 July 2021
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that blue light causes any harm, Boots and other suppliers were reprimanded for saying as such and were told to stop promoting their blue blocking specs as protecting the eyes. So why is the AOP promoting a company that claims it causes damage, especially when they hide any potential evidence behind having to sign up to their newsletter.
I fail to see how this is any different from the Boots case 4 years ago. https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/industry/high-street/2017/05/26/boots-opticians-fined-40000-over-misleading-blue-light-advertising
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Anonymous02 July 2021
Will the GOC be informed and will this be considered bringing the profession into disrepute? College of Optometrists guidance is quite clear that there is no evidence base for this
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