Lake Oswego, OR. (January 3, 2024) –
To learn more information, go to AltiusVision.com, or visit info.abboptical.com/altius.
Performance Vision Technologies Inc, the manufacturer of ALTIUS® Advanced Performance-Tinted Contact Lenses, the second generation to Nike Maxsight, is pleased to announce its official launch in the United States and select international markets. In addition to performance enhancement, recent clinical feedback suggests that single-use ALTIUS® Lenses, filtering an industry-leading 100% UV and +99% Blue Light, offer benefits to patients experiencing light sensitivity-related medical and quality-of-life issues. ALTIUS® Lenses are currently worn by renowned athletes, including USA Gold Medal Olympians, NFL, and MLB players as well as patients suffering from migraines, certain ocular diseases and those recovering from concussions and traumatic brain injury. Given the diverse applications of ALTIUS® Lenses (Medical/Sports Vision) in collaboration with Eyecare professionals and their staff, ALTIUS® offers new options for enhanced patient eye care and creates new and lasting practice growth.
ALTIUS® Lenses are currently offered through a partnership with ABB OPTICAL Group.
PVTI has assembled a talented “Team” of experts, advisors and successful business partners to design, develop, research, manufacture and distribute ALTIUS®. This “Team’s” core mission is to deliver products that ensure the highest performance under any visual or environmental demand. With that in mind, PVTI will continue to innovate and bring to market additional performance-elevating ALTIUS® Tints. For more information, visit AltiusVision.com.
ABB Optical Group is a leading provider of optical products, services and business solutions in the eye care industry. ABB operates through three business pillars: ABB Contact Lens, ABB Labs and ABB Business Solutions. ABB is focused on the future of eye care professionals, helping them succeed by making practices more efficient and assisting providers to effectively navigate market changes. For more information, visit abboptical.com.
United States
Joshua Martinez
Email: Joshua.martinez@altiusvision.com Phone: +1 619 415 7333
International
Fernando Bolio
Email: Fernando.bolio@altiusvision.com Phone: +52 1 9991107668
You might have just heard about ALTIUS® performance tinted contact lenses, but we’ve been in the making for a long time! Perhaps you’ve heard of a product called Nike MaxSight? MaxSight found success in athlete performance vision in the early 2000’s.
Remember seeing these lenses on your favorite athletes? Well, they’re back and better than ever! Let’s dive into the history of ALTIUS and how we went from MaxSight to where we are today.
It all started back in 1990 when ALTIUS Founder, CEO, and Chief Science Officer Dr. Alan Reichow, OD, MEd, FAAO, and colleagues at Pacific University College of Optometry began research on eye glare black. That’s the smear of black you’ll find athletes wear under or around their eyes. Their research showed Eye Glare Black can help to improve an athlete’s vision by reducing the sun’s glare reflected off skin. Turns out, there is an even better option.
Dr. Al and colleagues continued research on sports performance vision for another 8 years before embarking on creating performance tinted contact lenses, a potential solution for the ultimate in performance eyewear. Dr. Al, with his partners at Paragon Vision Sciences, determined the ideal tints to include in a contact lens which absorbed harmful UV, virtually all harsh Blue Light, and transmitted right Quantity (Visible Light Transmission) and Quality (Spectral Transmission Curves) for maximal visual comfort, clarity and quickness.
All that means is that they think they engineered the right tints for athletes to see the game better AND protect their eyes. Over the next several years, they started testing the tints on athletes at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
In 2000, longtime Pacific University baseball coach, Greg Bradley, became the first coach to try the lenses that were called SportsSight. His immediate reaction…
“I’ve never seen the ball and seams that distinctly before. You can put those lenses on all my players.” And they did!
Over the next few years, the team continued to study the lenses and the experience of the Pacific University baseball team using them. This garnered some local media attention… which sparked the interest of a very large local company.
This began a partnership between the team at SportsSight, Nike, and Bausch + Lomb. SportsSight became MaxSight… a vision performance solution for anyone, even those not needing any vision correction.
In 2005, MaxSight was officially launched at the American Optometry Association Annual Convention in Dallas, Texas. MaxSight was a monthly replacement lens, which meant that it required proper cleaning, disinfection and storage between uses. It didn’t take long for eye care professionals to see the value in this product.
In fact, MaxSight made such a big splash that it was recognized by TIME magazine as “One of the Most Amazing Inventions of 2005.”
Interestingly, in spite of the “Hassle Factors” of Maxsight, over 60% of MaxSight users were those that did not require vision correction, and had never worn contact lenses before.
Despite great success, outstanding testimonies, and media coverage, MaxSight came to an early end. Due to a contact lens solution contamination issue at Bausch + Lomb, completely unrelated to MaxSight, Nike didn’t feel comfortable continuing the product. There was too much risk in the endeavor to continue.
But that didn’t stop the team that would become ALTIUS, which means “Higher” in Latin.
With continued demand for performance tinted contact lenses, and all the science behind it, the team knew this product could stay alive… and get better! So, the team embarked on a new mission to create a single-use disposable lens that would be far easier and safer for users.
After almost a decade of research and development, the new and improved ALTIUS brand was created, with a product that would provide all the amazing benefits of MaxSight with even more convenience, protection, and visual clarity. It was designed with a much improved lens material and with parameters that provided improved ease of handling and comfort when applied to the eye, especially important with all the first time contact lens users who had no vision correction need.
Today, we’re proud to continue the mission of providing the best in vision performance for athletes and anyone that wants to See Better, Feel Better, and Play Better!
The ALTIUS team continues to conduct research on the lenses, including how they can support relief from photosensitivity often associated with migraines, concussions, and traumatic brain injuries. With a growing focus by eye care practitioners on these conditions, ALTIUS is gaining use as a new and improved solution to light sensitivity symptoms.
Stay connected with us as we continue to evolve and try ALTIUS for yourself!
Check out our provider page to find an eye care professional close to you, or contact us for more information on how you can benefit from using ALTIUS.
We hope you saw Von Miller from the Buffalo Bills wearing ALTIUS Performance-Tinted Contact Lenses during an interview on the Pat McAfee show.
The Super Bowl MVP linebacker was interviewed in the renowned show on May 23, 2023. Von was wearing ALTIUS Amber lenses while talking to Pat. The host, who has 2.2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel was amazed by the tinted contacts. In less than 18 hours the video had more than 35 thousand views!
Do you have red contacts? Was McAfee's first question to the NFL star. Von’s immediate response was to lean closer to the camera so the host could have a better look at the ALTIUS contacts. "We were outside today, these are like shades but they are contacts" he said.
The linebacker explained that these lenses block the sun light and blue light, enhancing his vision on the field. He also mentioned they are more comfortable to wear than sunglasses when running or warming up as they don't fog up or have light leakage, which is distracting to the NFL player (and to anyone who wears glassess). "You can work as hard as you want, sweat and don't have any problems" adds the player. Von Miller said he started wearing ALTIUS when he was in Los Angeles playing for the Rams and he has continued to use them: "I really love these a lot, specially while I'm out there and it's sunny, specially in the golf course", he said. To this response McAfee could only reply, "So these are performance enhancing contacts.”
So why does Von wear ALTIUS?
ALTIUS Performance-Tinted Contact Lenses are engineered to enhance your visual performance by eliminating visual noise, primarily from harsh blue light. This improves the rest of the light spectrum you see, which provides greater visual clarity and comfort while playing sports. They provide 100% UV protection and over 99% protection against blue light. As they are contacts you will have a full immersive visual experience. For anyone challenged with light sensitivity or photosensitivity of any kind, ALTIUS is a great solution.
We currently offer two tints. ALTIUS Amber, which are a perfect fit for dynamic sports, such as Football, Tennis, Soccer or Baseball, among other sports played outdoor and in bright indoor conditions. ALTIUS Grey-Green, which enable you to see better for outdoor activities, such as Golf, Surfing, Running, Triathlon, among other outdoor activities. No matter the sport you play, we've got you covered!
Are you looking to increase your performance? ALTIUS is here to make that happen.
Click here now and find a provider near you! Or get in contact with us by clicking here!
