At Performance Vision Technologies, Inc, (PVTI), developers of ALTIUS®, we believe that better vision doesn’t just change how you see, it transforms how you live. Whether you're an elite athlete, someone recovering from a concussion, navigating life with migraine-related light sensitivity, or simply trying to enjoy the outdoors without discomfort, ALTIUS® Performance-Tinted Single-Use Soft Contact Lenses are designed to support your lifestyle.
With over 2 decades of supportive clinical research, and engineered with FDA-cleared, patents-pending Light Architecture™ technology, ALTIUS® delivers a personalized approach to vision care, providing powerful light filtration, enhanced contrast, and a new level of clarity in bright, high-glare environments. It’s more than just vision correction, it’s a mindset shift. From high-performance sports to everyday relief, ALTIUS® is for everyone.
Here’s how real wearers describe their experiences. Each story is a testament to the life-changing potential of ALTIUS®.
“I didn’t know what I was missing before these lenses.”
Maggie Steffens – 3x Olympic Gold Medalist, Water Polo
Even at the top of her game, Maggie found a new level of visual performance with ALTIUS®. The clarity, contrast, and visual comfort of our tints are not just for the photosensitive, they’re for anyone looking to elevate their experience in bright or dynamic environments.
What Can ALTIUS® Do for Athletes? Whether you’re an elite competitor or an active enthusiast, ALTIUS® lenses are engineered to elevate your vision and your performance. With two precision-tinted options, we help athletes at every level unlock sharper contrast, reduced glare, and a new standard of visual clarity.
"After a debilitating injury I suffered on my bike, I struggled with extreme light sensitivity and the only relief to light sensitivity was to stay in a dark room. ALTIUS lenses changed everything. Once I was introduced to ALTIUS lenses I could get out of the dark room without fear of headaches. These lenses are a game-changer, they gave me the ability to recover from my concussion. After 3 weeks I was able to get back out into sunlight with no pain. I still wear them when training and racing my triathlons. A bonus that I found through this experience is that they are also great for my golf game. I am forever grateful to ALTIUS.”
Michael Hull – Ironman Triathlete, Post-Concussion Recovery
Recovering from a concussion often means avoiding light entirely. For Michael, that isolation ended with ALTIUS®. The lenses blocked the triggering wavelengths and allowed him to gradually reintroduce light exposure, ultimately restoring his ability to train, race, and even golf.
What Can ALTIUS® Do for post-concussion recovery?
"For the first time in years, I can work on my laptop without a migraine kicking in. I’m not dizzy, I’m not foggy, I can stay outside and feel… normal."
"With ALTIUS®, I don’t have to choose between seeing clearly and feeling okay."
"I feel like it stopped the migraine in its tracks."
— Sarah (F)
For Sarah, Visual Snow Syndrome wasn’t just visual “static.” It came with a surge of overlapping symptoms, including brain fog, dizziness, double vision, and migraines. Bright screens, classroom lights, and white headlights all pushed her over the edge.
But with ALTIUS®, the chaos began to fade.
“The light is not as strong of a trigger when I’m outside or working on the computer,” she explains. “I can be outside/on screen for hours vs. up to an hour.”
She alternates between ALTIUS® Amber Lenses indoors and ALTIUS® Grey-Green Lenses outdoors, each restoring balance to parts of her day that once overwhelmed her. She can now train dogs in the sun, finish online coursework, and tolerate extended screen time without symptoms building. Her migraine frequency has dropped. The fog has lifted.
One turning point came during a family gathering. “Easter with the family was a big one,” Sarah recalls. “I felt a migraine coming on, put in the contacts and was able to function and enjoy the family event. I feel like it stopped the migraine in its tracks.”
She encourages others with light sensitivity to give ALTIUS® a try:
“If you have migraines, try them. It won’t hurt to find out if they can make a big difference for you.”
What Can ALTIUS® Do for Patients with Visual Snow and Migraine?
Find your relief. Find a provider
With both Amber and Grey-Green tints available, ALTIUS® Lenses are engineered to meet the unique demands of your environment, your activities, and your visual challenges. Whether you’re chasing a championship, managing migraine sensitivity, or simply seeking improved clarity and comfort on bright days, ALTIUS® addresses how you live and perform.
And it’s not just for those who require vision correction. In fact, more than 70% of all ALTIUS® lenses sold are Plano (zero power), showing that even individuals who have never worn a vision correction or contact lensesy are choosing ALTIUS® for its unmatched protection, comfort and performance benefits.
ALTIUS® for Everyone.
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!
Never worn contacts? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! ALTIUS® Performance Contact
Lenses are for anyone, whether you need vision correction or not. That means we see a lot of
people wearing and benefiting from our lenses that have never worn contacts before.
For anyone new to wearing contacts, the process can feel overwhelming. That’s one of the
reasons it’s so important to start by working with your eye care professional (ECP). Your ECP
will walk you through application and removal of our contact lenses, a crucial first step in the
process.
It can take some practice getting used to applying and removing the lenses. So, if you need
some help with handling your lenses, here are some simple steps to follow.
Handling the lenses
Cleanliness is the first step in handling your lenses. Make sure to thoroughly wash and dry your
hands before handling your lenses. Also ensure that you aren’t using any products on your
hands that will leave a residue or could cause irritation to your eye. These are soft contact
lenses and need to be treated with care, so try not to touch the lenses with your fingernails or
any sharp objects.
Placing the lens on your eye
When you open your lens package you will find the lenses are in a sterile solution, ready to
place on your eye. Gently place the lens on the tip of your dominant hand index finger, which
should be clean and dry. Make sure the lens is not turned inside out. It should look like a small
bowl sitting on the tip of your finger. If the lens is turned inside out, you can easily reverse it and
place it back on your index finger. Again, you want to avoid using your fingernails with these
lenses.
Next, look straight ahead and pull up your upper eyelid using your other index finger. Keep both
eyes open as you look down slightly. Place the lens on the upper white part of the eye. Once
you have the lens on your eye, release your eyelid and slowly close your eyes while gradually
looking straight ahead. By doing this, the lens should move to its correct position. If not, you can
use very gentle pressure with your index finger to move the lens.
You’ll repeat these same steps for your other eye.
Don’t panic if you have some trouble the first few times you insert the lenses. Your eyelids want
to protect your eyes from any harm and may want to close. Remain calm and keep both eyes
open during this process. And make sure that you are holding your eyelid open enough that you
can easily place the lens on your eye.
There is no perfect way of inserting your lenses. If this method doesn’t work for you, that’s why
you see an ECP! They will work with you to find the best practice for you and your ALTIUS
lenses.
If the lens ever feels stuck on your eye after use, apply a few drops of contact lens rewetting
solution and blink several times. If you feel any discomfort, or the lens doesn’t move freely,
contact your ECP for some added support.
Removing your lenses
ALTIUS performance contact lenses are single-use, meaning they are only meant to be used
ONLY once and then disposed of after usage. When you’re ready to remove your lenses,
cleanliness is just as important as when applying the lenses. Thoroughly wash and dry your
hands before attempting to handle the lenses.
Then, you’ll look at your eyes and make sure that the lenses are centered on the cornea. If the
lens is off-center, gently re-center it before attempting to remove it.
Look up while keeping both eyes open. Using the middle finger of your dominant hand, gently
pull down the lower lid of one of your eyes. Using the tip of the index finger on the same hand,
touch the lens and slide it onto the white of the eye.
Lightly pinch the lens between your index finger and thumb and remove. Remember to be very
gentle and not use your fingernails during this process to avoid any issues.
Repeat this process on the other eye.
If the lens cannot be easily removed, apply a few drops of the contact lens rewetting solution
and blink a few times. When the lens moves freely, remove it in the same manner described
above.
Once you’ve removed your lenses, dispose of them immediately.
Removing contact lenses can be just as intimidating as applying lenses. It may take several
attempts to get the lenses out when you’re new to wearing them. It’s important to remain calm
and be gentle. If you have any issues, reach out to your ECP for additional support.
Once you get the hang of applying and removing your lenses, it will become second nature.
There is very low risk in using these contact lenses, and there’s so much more to gain in terms
of the benefits you’ll get from improved performance vision.
If you have any questions, reach out to us!
