Color vision testing is a crucial tool in diagnosing various eye conditions, including color blindness and other color vision deficiencies. Traditionally, color vision tests have been based on pseudoisochromatic plates or arrangements of colored dots. However, advancements in technology have led to the development of new methods for color vision testing that are faster, more accurate, and more accessible.
One emerging technology is the use of virtual reality (VR) in color vision test. VR provides a more immersive and interactive testing experience, allowing for a more precise diagnosis of color vision deficiencies. Additionally, VR technology can simulate real-world scenarios, enabling more accurate assessments of color vision in tasks such as driving, where color recognition is critical for safety.
Another promising technology is the use of smartphone apps for color vision testing. These apps offer a convenient and cost-effective way to perform color vision tests anywhere, anytime. They use the phone's camera and display to present color vision tests, and the results can be easily shared with eye care professionals for further analysis and treatment.
In the future, color vision testing will likely continue to evolve with the advancement of technology. With the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, AI-powered color vision tests could provide even more accurate and efficient diagnoses. Moreover, personalized color vision testing may become more common, with tests tailored to an individual's specific needs and requirements.
The future of color vision testing is exciting, with the potential for more accurate and accessible testing methods that can improve the lives of those with color vision deficiencies.
The Future of Color Vision Testing
Today in our digital world one might wonder why we don’t have some simple computer-based color blindness test. Unfortunately, this is not as simple as it looks like. There are two main problems:
Computers displays just make use of three main colors red, green and blue (RGB). Every other color gets mixed from those three colors. The anomaloscope and lantern tests use different light sources that can’t be simulated by a display.
Every computer display has a different color range it covers, little differences in light sources, different brightness and more. This causes different test results. Only calibrated computers can be used to perform such computer-based tests.
The City University in London developed a computer-based color vision test which is also based on the same principle as pseudoisochromatic plates and arrangement tests.
The main difference is that the colors are constantly changing which gives some really good results. Just recently they used their test to check color vision in pilot candidates and it looks like this could become a standard screening instrument for color vision testing for certain professions, where color vision is critical but people with a mild form of color vision still perform perfectly.
There is also some genetic testing available. But even such a simple impairment as color blindness is not easy to detect in the genes. So every genetic test always needs some physical tests in parallel to get a proper and concise test result.
Color naming would be a very simple test to identify color blindness, but for most cases, it is too simple, too unspecific and not reliable enough.
Therefore color naming can be used to simply check if you have a moderate to strong color vision deficiency but not for a detailed classification of your color vision deficiency.
Living with Color Blindness
“Which color is that?” is an often-heard question if you are colorblind. You get used to it. You also learn how to handle it like most other difficulties that arise from your color vision deficiency.
Here, we will take a closer look at the everyday life of a colorblind person and also at the impacts this vision handicap can have on your career choice.
Most people think that traffic lights are one of the biggest issues for everyone suffering from color vision deficiency, but they are wrong. The colors for traffic lights are very well chosen and they are always arranged in a certain order.
So this is not a problem at all for most colorblind fellows even if some states don’t allow you to get a driver’s license if you are colorblind.
But there are some real handicaps for people who are suffering from some moderate to strong color vision deficiency:
A Sunburn can’t be seen, only if the skin is almost glowing.
If meat is cooked can’t be told by its color.
There is no difference between the colors for vacant (green) and occupied (red).
Flowers and fruits can’t be that easily spotted sometimes.
And you can’t tell if a fruit or vegetable is ripe or not yet.
Every electrical device that uses LED lights to indicate something is a permanent source of annoyance.
Colored maps and graphics can sometimes be very hard to decipher.
By far the biggest issue is matching colors and especially matching clothes.
If you have a color vision defect you can’t just choose flowers that fit together nicely, or a painting that fits with the furniture, or a carpet. You also can’t create a website or an image with nicely matching colors.
And you will never be able to easily match your shirt with your tie, your trousers with your shoes, your whole wardrobe. In this case, you need a pair of color-enabled eyes that help you out.
Choosing a Career as a Colorblind
A color vision deficiency often gets more attention when it comes to choosing a future career. Parents are very concerned about possible restrictions.
But also young people ask themselves if the job of their dreams will stay just a dream because of their vision handicap. Jobs that require good color vision can be split into two different categories. In the first of them, color matching or color recognition is a main component of the job. This for example includes color quality control, art teaching, interior decorating and more.
This group of jobs is easy to decide about for colorblind people as each one knows best himself if he will perform well in such a profession or not. Most colorblind people can also accept this fact more or less easily.
Professions that require good to perfect color vision
Airline pilot
Air traffic controller
Firefighter
Police officer
Train driver
Some ranks in the armed forces
Some electrical/electronic engineers
The other category includes jobs that also require good color vision but only in support of the job itself. This group includes the job profiles of pilots, firefighters, police officers and more. These kinds of jobs have to following facts in common:
Bad color vision is a security problem in this job.
Passing a color blindness test is required to qualify for the job.
The impact of a color vision deficiency is not well described.
There is no international standard on color vision requirements.
The points listed above unfortunately make it very complicated. Many colorblind people believe that they still could perform in such a position perfectly and that turning them down just because of their color vision deficiency is not correct.
Some people even start thinking about how to cheat on such a test just to get through the exams and get the job of their dreams. But this is not the right way to go.
Here are six steps to plan for your future career:
(1) Learn. During your time at school learn how you can handle colors. Learn about the severity of your color blindness and learn your special techniques to get around your handicap. This way you are very well prepared when it comes to choosing your future career.
(2) Inform. Get all possible information about the job of your dreams and possible handicaps for color-blind people. You can get information from a prospective employer, from special authorities like the FAA for pilot candidates and of course from the Internet. It’s important to check your local requirements as they can vary between different countries.
(3) Talk. Try to find some people who are working in this job and talk to them. They will know best if there are special tasks which might be a problem and you will know from your personal experiences, if you will be able to handle and also most important if you will feel comfortable in such a position. First check your relatives, ask around in your neighborhood, maybe you will find somebody at the college and otherwise I’m sure you will be able to find somebody online who will be happy to help you out. Just check forums where those people could hang around.
(4) Communicate. Don not try to hide your color vision deficiency. Be honest and communicate it if it might be a problem. Of course you only have to do this if color vision could be a possible handicap. But it is important to inform your prospective employer what you learned about the job to be done and how you overcome those handicaps despite your imperfect color vision.
(5) Go for it. Don’t forget to take the last step. Do the required tests to learn more about your color blindness. You might pass without any problem and you might fail. You maybe also like to try different employers as there are in most jobs no national rules concerning color vision deficiency.
(6) Discuss. Did you fail the color blindness test and did they use the Ishihara plates or some similar form? Check my chapter about color blindness tests to learn about other possible tests. This should help you to start a discussion about the used test and if maybe this test was just too restrictive. There are many different tests available and sometimes it would be even much better if your prospective employer would just check possible job restrictions and if you can handle those or not.
And please don’t forget the fact, that many people have some form of handicap which is a burden and sometimes becomes a big obstacle. Get used to your color blindness and try to accept that moderate to strong color-blind people shouldn’t dream to work for example as a pilot or a professional firefighter.
If you can’t accept this, don’t try to cheat on the tests but start a discussion about it.