The Optician Show - Optical Business & Marketing Podcast

Colour vision deficiency is far more complex than simply being “colour blind”.In this special episode, recorded around Colour Vision Deficiency Awareness Day, Garry Kousoulou is joined by Mark Hickson, Programme Leader for face-to-face teaching at Bradford College and lecturer in ophthalmic dispensing and visual optics.Mark is a qualified dispensing optician with a specialist interest in visual perception, and this conversation explores what colour vision really is, how the brain interprets colour, why colour vision deficiency occurs, and why the optical profession may need to give the subject far more attention.One of the most fascinating ideas discussed is that colour itself is not a physical property in the way most of us imagine. Light has different wavelengths, but the colours we experience are constructed by the brain. Mark explains how cone cells, rod cells and higher visual processing all contribute to the way we perceive the world around us.The episode also looks closely at colour vision deficiency and the genetics behind it. Mark explains why congenital colour vision deficiency is far more common in men, how the X chromosome is involved and why a child with colour vision deficiency may have absolutely no idea that they see the world differently from everybody else.That creates an important challenge for parents, teachers, opticians and schools.A child may not complain that something is wrong because, to them, their vision has always been normal. Instead, clues may appear through behaviour at school, difficulties with colour-coded learning materials or problems distinguishing certain colours.Garry and Mark also discuss the Ishihara colour vision test, one of the most recognisable tests used in eye care. They look at the different types of Ishihara plates, how the test should be used, why lighting and presentation matter and why old or faded testing books may not give reliable results.This leads to a bigger question for the optical profession: are we testing colour vision often enough?The conversation explores whether dispensing opticians and optical assistants could play a greater role in colour vision screening and whether practices should routinely have access to recognised colour vision tests.The discussion then moves into careers.For some occupations, accurate colour discrimination can be important for safety or professional requirements. The episode considers careers such as train driving, aviation, the military, electrical work and even highly specialised jobs such as producing prosthetic eyes.However, colour vision deficiency should not simply be viewed as a limitation.Mark shares the remarkable historical example of people with colour vision deficiency sometimes being able to detect camouflage more effectively because they are less distracted by certain colour patterns.The episode also touches on one of the most famous examples of visual perception: the blue-and-black or white-and-gold dress illusion. Different people can look at exactly the same image and genuinely perceive different colours, demonstrating just how much colour perception depends on the brain rather than simply the eye.This is a fascinating conversation for dispensing opticians, optometrists, optical assistants, students, parents, teachers and anyone interested in how human vision works.If you work in optometry, ophthalmic dispensing or eye care, this episode may encourage you to think differently about how often colour vision is discussed and tested in practice.And if you are a parent, teacher or someone living with colour vision deficiency, it is a reminder that seeing colour differently does not necessarily mean seeing the world less clearly. It simply means the brain may be interpreting that world in a different way.Featuring:Garry Kousoulou – Dispensing Optician and host of The Optician ShowMark Hickson – Programme Leader and Lecturer in Ophthalmic Dispensing and Visual Optics at Bradford College.

Colour Blindness: What Parents, Teachers & Opticians Need to KnowIn this episode of The Optician Show, Garry Kousoulou explores one of the most overlooked areas of eye care:colour vision deficiency, also commonly searched for as color vision deficiency or colour blindness.Joined by colour vision experts, this episode looks at why colour vision deficiency can still go undetected in children,what parents should look out for, and why optometrists and opticians need to think beyond simply completing an Ishihara colour vision test.We discuss how colour vision deficiency can affect education, confidence, everyday life and even safety.The conversation also explores the science behind how we see colour, the difference between screening and diagnosis,and why people with colour vision deficiency can become extremely skilled at recognising colours through learning and experience.In this episode: Why colour vision deficiency is still frequently missed What the Ishihara test can and cannot tell us Why an Ishihara test is a screening tool rather than a full diagnosis How colour blindness can affect children in the classroom What parents should do if they suspect their child has colour vision deficiency How teachers can make learning more accessible Why you should never use colour alone to communicate important information The difference between rods, cones and colour perception How people with colour vision deficiency learn to recognise colours Why colour accessibility can also be a workplace and safety issue The role opticians and optometrists can play in improving awarenessOne of the strongest messages from this conversation is simple:never use colour alone to convey information.Small changes in schools, workplaces and healthcare can make information far more accessible for people with colour vision deficiency.This episode is particularly relevant for opticians, optometrists, dispensing opticians, ophthalmic professionals,teachers, parents and anyone interested in colour vision, colour blindness and accessible design.If you are searching for a color vision deficiency podcast,colour vision deficiency podcast,optometry podcast oroptician podcast,this episode provides a practical and thought-provoking discussion about an area of vision that deserves far more attention.The Optician Show brings together people, ideas and conversations from across optics, optometry and eye care.Keywords:color vision deficiency podcast,colour vision deficiency podcast,optometry podcast,optician podcast,colour blindness,color blindness,Ishihara test,colour vision test,colour blindness in children,optometry,opticians,dispensing optician,eye care podcast,colour vision deficiency education.

The Colour Vision Revolution: How Hungarian Tomatoes Transformed Eye CareWelcome to a revolutionary episode of the podcast that will change how optical professionals approach colour vision deficiency. Joined by Balazs Komolka and Mate Sabo from ColorOn, Garry Kousoulou explores a scientific breakthrough that turns a failed Ishihara test from a clinical dead end into a life-changing opportunity.Colour deficiency affects approximately 1 in 12 men and 1 in 400 women. Despite its prevalence, it remains heavily shrouded in stigma. For decades, the optical industry has lacked an accessible, real-time solution to enhance a patient's colour perception in the testing room. That narrative changes today.The genesis of ColorOn did not start in an optical laboratory, but in the agricultural export market of 1980s Eastern Europe. When East Germany rejected shipments of Hungarian tomato puree for "not being red enough," the Technical University in Budapest was commissioned to create an objective "tomato purimeter" to measure redness. Having successfully mastered red light filtering for agriculture, the research team asked a bold question."The people and this researcher at Budapest Technical University asked, 'Okay, what do we do next? Because we have this knowledge about red light and red filtering... What can we use this for?' And there was a wild idea. Maybe let's check the human eye." (Mate Sabo)Early human research was flawed because the medical literature incorrectly assumed colour blindness was caused by missing or weak photoreceptors. The Hungarian researchers discovered that in over 99 percent of cases (specifically red-green deficiency), the cones are not missing. Instead, their sensitivity has shifted. Red shifts towards green, and green shifts towards red. This overlap creates a muddy "confusion zone."ColorOn lenses do not cure colour blindness. Because it is impossible to alter the biological sensors without gene therapy, the lenses manipulate the external stimuli before it reaches the eye. They act as highly sophisticated filters that cut out the specific wavelengths causing the confusion zone.When a patient first tries the ColorOn lenses, a crucial biological process must occur. Initially, their entire field of vision will appear tinted. However, within one to two minutes, the brain undergoes chromatic adaptation to achieve "white balance." Once the brain recalibrates and white balance is reached, the Ishihara test is presented again, frequently resulting in highly emotional reactions."Then the brain starts the adaptation... the white balance comes back again and this is when we can go for a second time Ishihara check... you see the happiness of a child on their faces because it is truly the first experience they see colour differentiation." (Balazs Komolka)Extensive patient surveys revealed that 83 percent of colour-deficient individuals do not want to wear tinted lenses all day. They view colour enhancement as a functional, task-specific tool. ColorOn offers a tiered portfolio (Strong, Mild, Experience, and Sunglasses) with a heavy focus on clip-ons. This allows patients to overlay the technology onto their existing prescription exactly when needed.In practice, the diagnostic procedure takes just 10 to 12 minutes using a patented digital tablet tester. The software maps the patient's specific deficiency and instantly recommends the correct lens, removing all guesswork for the dispensing optician.With European Medical Device Regulation certification secured, ColorOn is preparing for a massive UK launch, spearheaded by appearances at the upcoming 100% Optical event at ExCeL London. We are currently looking for 50 pioneer optical practices in the UK to be the first to introduce this technology."We are going to find 50 practices once everything is good... to test this, and this is so exciting for those first 50. If you're watching this and you think, 'Well, this is something I want to s

The Secret History of Optics: Inside the World’s Oldest Optical MuseumIn this special on-the-move episode of The Optician Show, Garry Kousoulou visits the British Optical Association Museum at the College of Optometrists and speaks with museum curator Dr Neil Handley.Neil describes it as the oldest optical museum in the world, now celebrating its 125th anniversary.“We are the oldest optical museum in the world, and this year is our 125th anniversary.”This is a fascinating walk through the history of optics, eyewear, sight testing and the inventions that helped shape modern eye care.Along the way, Garry and Neil uncover remarkable stories involving:Benjamin Franklin and bifocalsGandhi’s spectaclesMarilyn Monroe’s final glassesGreta Garbo and monovisionearly Ray-Ban eyewearhistoric colour vision testingVictorian eye-disease modelsSir Harold Ridley and the intraocular lensOne of the museum’s most striking ideas is summed up by Neil:“There are so many eyes around the building that it’s the only museum where the exhibits look at you rather than the other way around.”The episode also reveals one of the oldest printed illustrations of spectacles, dating back to 1475, and explores how optical history continues to influence eye care today.A particularly powerful story concerns a Board of Trade colour vision test from 1912, introduced after concerns that ship navigators could struggle to distinguish red and green navigation lights. Neil explains how improved testing was followed by a significant reduction in shipping accidents.The conversation then moves to Sir Harold Ridley and the development of the intraocular lens. Observations made during the Second World War about Perspex fragments in pilots’ eyes helped inspire an invention that transformed cataract surgery.For anyone who has worked in optics for years, this episode will also unlock memories.“They see something from 40 years ago, and it’s a lightbulb moment. They go, ‘I remember that.’”Garry describes the museum as:“An Aladdin’s cave.”And that really captures it.This is not simply a podcast about old spectacles. It is about innovation, healthcare, fashion, science, public safety and the extraordinary people who helped shape the optical profession.The episode also looks ahead to the College of Optometrists’ Open House on Sunday 13 September 2026, from 12pm–5pm, when visitors can explore the museum and meet experts from the College.Garry and Neil also discuss plans to curate a collection of Snellen sight charts in different languages, potentially creating something truly unique.If you are an optometrist, dispensing optician, optical assistant, student, eyewear enthusiast or simply fascinated by eye care history, this is an episode worth watching or listening to.As Neil says at the end:“I hope it’s been eye-opening.”It certainly was.#TheOpticianShow #Opticians #Optometry #Eyecare #OpticalHistory #Eyewear #CollegeOfOptometrists #NeilHandley #BenjaminFranklin #HaroldRidley #IntraocularLens #ColourVision #EyeHealth #VisionCare #IndependentOpticians

Episode: The Optometrist Yoga Teacher — Treating Dry Eye From the Inside OutIn this episode, Garry sits down with Sal, an optometrist and yoga teacher based in Bristol who's about to open her own practice built around a radical idea: that eye health and mental wellbeing are inseparable.Sal has spent 11 years as an optometrist and nine as a yoga teacher, running both careers side by side — and she's now merging them into one holistic model of care. As she puts it, she's "obsessed by eyes" and "obsessed by yoga," and believes the two disciplines "go really well together."Her core philosophy challenges how the profession typically treats dry eye. Rather than only addressing symptoms, she wants to look at root causes: "think about what is the underlying cause," she says, drawing a parallel to her own experience with weight loss, where she learned to treat "the ultimate cause, not the proximate cause."She walks through the biochemistry behind her approach — how stress keeps the nervous system "in fight or flight constantly," spiking cortisol and reducing tear production, which in turn "creates inflammation" at the front of the eye. Her list of who's most affected is blunt and wide-ranging: "menopausal women," people newly diagnosed with glaucoma, anyone "working for 15 hours in front of a screen." Her conclusion: "every patient that has dry eye has an element of stress in their life for some reason or another."The conversation also covers her forthcoming Bristol practice on White Ladies Road, Clifton — three months from launch, complete with a dedicated space for yoga and breathwork sessions for patients. She's candid about the pressure of starting from scratch rather than acquiring an existing practice: "I have a dream, I have a vision. The location is right, I have everything I need."The episode closes with something you won't hear on most business podcasts: a live guided breathing exercise, which Sal leads Garry and listeners through in real time — heart hand, belly hand, and all.A genuinely different kind of Optician Show conversation — equal parts clinical, spiritual, and practical for anyone thinking about opening a practice of their own