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Simulated night vision goggle wear and colored aftereffects
Jeffery K Hovis1, Nicolas Pilecki
1School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada. jhovis@uwaterloo.ca
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
|March 22, 2013
Summary
Night vision goggle wear causes subtle, short-term color vision changes in pilots, primarily affecting blue perception and slightly impairing color discrimination. These effects are temporary and unlikely to cause significant issues.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Human Factors Engineering
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Military pilots report varied rates (1.6%-65%) of altered color vision post-night vision goggle (NVG) use.
- Commonly reported aftereffect is a transient brownish afterimage.
- Discrepancies in reported effects necessitate controlled study.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the nature and duration of color aftereffects following simulated NVG wear.
- Quantify changes in color appearance and discrimination.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments conducted after 30 minutes of simulated NVG wear.
- Experiment 1: Assessed color appearance by measuring unique blue and yellow spectral locations.
- Experiment 2: Evaluated color discrimination using the Lanthony Desaturated D15 test.
Main Results:
- Unique blue perception shifted spectrally post-NVG wear, returning to baseline within 12 minutes.
- Unique yellow perception remained unaffected.
- Color discrimination time increased by 13% initially, with fewer errors observed post-wear.
Conclusions:
- Color aftereffects from simulated NVG wear are subtle and transient.
- Observed effects are consistent with short-term visual adaptation.
- Unlikely to cause significant color vision impairment in operational settings.
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