Color vision screening and viewing conditions: the problem of misdiagnosis

The most popular techniques for assessing color vision, the pseudoisochromatic tests, have been found to differ widely in their sensitivity to changes in viewing conditions. A significant number of color-normal subjects will be misdiagnosed as color defective by some of the standard tests with even relatively minor variations from standardized viewing conditions. These results appear to have strong implications for the use of the tests in many applied settings which precise control over viewing conditions is difficult. In particular, as the consequences of a misdiagnosis become very serious, the tests must be used with special caution. If we were to recommend one test for use, our findings point to the Ishihara, which appears impervious to variation in viewing conditions.