Transmittance of tinted and UV-blocking disposable contact lenses

Purpose. Tinted and ultraviolet (UV)-blocking disposable contact lenses hav e become increasingly popular over the last decade. Wearers of UV-blocking contact lenses could benefit greatly by protecting their eyes from potentia l UV radiation damage. A Uvikon 930 dual beam spectrophotometer was used to measure three enhancement-tinted lenses (royal blue, evergreen, and aqua), two types of UV-blocking lenses, and two types of non-UV-blocking lenses. Enhancement-tinted lenses did show a decrease in transmittance at certain w avelengths on the visible spectrum, but they did not reduce the transmittan ce of UV radiation to the extent of the UV-blocking lenses designed specifi cally for this purpose.