Effect of X-Chrom lens wear on chromatic discrimination and stereopsis in color-deficient observers

Four color-deficient observers and one normal trichromatic subject were evaluated with color vision and stereoacuity tests during 1 month of X-Chrom lens wear. For all color tests, performance of the normal subject was unaltered by X-Chrom lens wear. Color-deficient subjects demonstrated improved performance on the Ishihara pseudoisochromatic color plates, but either degraded performance or no change on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue or Pickford-Nicolson red-green anomaloscope test. Three of the five subjects exhibited degraded stereoacuity in conjunction with X-Chrom lens wear. We conclude that the X-Chrom lens does not improve discrimination in color-deficient subjects and may alter stereopsis.