Mobile News Awards Innovative Product finalist Ocushield has been awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise. The company, conceived in a university bedroom, makes eyewear products said to protect from the damaging effects of harmful blue light emitted from smartphone and computer screens.
The Award recognises the London-based organisation for its growth and commercial success in international trade selling products in 147 countries It is one of 148 organisations to receive the King’s first enterprise award was previously known as The Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
Ocushield protectors are medically-rated screen protectors to fit smartphones, tablets and computer screens that emit blue light said to cause headaches, blurred vision, fatigue and dry eyes and negatively affect sleep hormones. Ocushield’s products range from screen protectors to bedside lamps, and glasses and claim to block up to 90 per cent of blue light wavelengths.
The company was set up by Dhruvin Patel, a qualified optometrist.
“We’ve come a long way since I started researching blue light whilst at university in 2013. Ten years on, we’ve helped to protect more than 300,000 eyes across the world”, he said.
“With screen time increasing, especially among young people at earlier ages we have much more work to do to help prevent a poor eyesight epidemic.”
As well as producing screen protectors, Ocushield has innovated even further with the production of glasses, lamps and masks to help reduce the effects of blue light.
Patel received grant funding after developing the concept from research at City University London and winning a CASS business school competition. In 2019, Ocushield launched its first retail partnerships with Amazon and Selfridges.
A year after turning down a Dragons’ Den investment, the company attracted £1m of private investment to take the business to the next level.
Its latest innovation is the development of a seven-minute online eye test to help spot potential issues earlier.