Hongjing

People's sensitivity to color is directly related to their visual system, and everyone's perception of color is different. This is why it is crucial for those involved in color assessment to understand the accuracy of their color vision. The ability of the human eye to distinguish colors is called color vision.

Relevant data shows that over 90% of men and over 99% of women worldwide have normal color vision, yet nearly 200 million people cannot identify or distinguish colors due to color vision deficiencies. Individuals with normal color vision can correctly identify the numerous colors in nature, while those with abnormal color vision may have more or less difficulty identifying or have distorted perception of certain hues, commonly known as color blindness.

Color vision deficiencies can be congenital or acquired:

Congenital color vision deficienciesare caused by abnormal photochemistry of visual pigments. According to color matching, color vision abnormalities can be classified as anomalous trichromats, dichromats, and monochromats (complete color blindness)

According to statistical data, some scholars believe that the color blindness rate in China is 4.71% for men and 0.67% for women;Acquired color vision deficienciesoccur in people who originally had normal color vision but experienced damage to the retinal or neural conduction stages due to age-related changes, certain ophthalmologic diseases, or drug side effects. As people age, the lens darkens, turning yellow or amber, and acts as a filter for short-wave light. When blue and green light spectra are filtered, the total amount of light reaching the retina is reduced, causing the brain's ability to identify blue and green to decrease. If the cause is identified and treated promptly, the color vision deficiency can disappear.

FM100-Huetest Color Vision Test 

The FM100-Huetest color vision test is a simple and effective method for checking color discrimination ability. Designed in 1943 by Farnsworth based on the principle of color presentation and using standard Munsell color samples, it is now widely used in various industries dealing with color.

This color vision test consists of two parts: the FM100 color caps (Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Test) and the FM100 scoring system (Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Scoring System), i.e., the test part and the scoring part.

FM100 Color Caps (Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Test)

The FM100 Color Caps (Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Test) consists of four black plastic boxes and 93 hue caps. There are 85 movable hue caps, arranged in the four plastic boxes according to the order of hue changes. Each box has a fixed hue cap at each end as a color order reference. The four boxes contain a total of 93 hue caps. The back of each of the 85 movable caps has a unique sequential hue number.

FM100 Scoring System (Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Scoring System)

The FM100 Scoring System (Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Scoring System) is a CD containing scoring software that can be installed on a computer for final scoring, saving test records, and generating test reports.

Applications

• Classifies the color discrimination ability of people with normal color vision into three categories: excellent, average, and poor;

• Identifies the confusion areas (bands), type, and degree of color vision deficiency in people with abnormal color vision;

• Evaluates the effectiveness of medical treatment.

FM100 Color Cap Test Application

Testing Environment

It is recommended to conduct the test under a standard light source box (such as Macbeth Judge II or SPL III) with a D65 standard light source, with a light source irradiation angle of 90 degrees and an observation angle of 60 degrees. If a standard light source box is unavailable, it is recommended to use the northern window sunlight on a clear day.

Application

• Open any of the four plastic boxes, leaving the fixed hue caps untouched, and shuffle the remaining caps so that they are randomly arranged;

• Then, repeat the above steps for the remaining three plastic boxes, shuffling the caps randomly;

• Take any of the prepared plastic boxes and place it in the standard light source box. Demonstrate the sorting rules (sort in hue order) to the subject and inform the subject that the allowed time for each box is about 2 minutes. If the time exceeds 2 minutes, remind the subject but do not remove the box. Continue to allow arrangement, emphasize that accuracy is more important than speed, and have them do a trial run.

• Restore the hue caps to a random order, begin the formal test, and time each box (approximately 2 minutes). Allow the subject to arrange the caps in any way they prefer. If the arrangement time exceeds 2 minutes, gently remind them, but do not interfere and let them finish sorting.

• Sort all four boxes sequentially.

• Note: If multiple people are participating in the test, other participants must not approach the test subject, participate in the sorting, or observe or comment on the test, to avoid disturbing the subject.

Scoring

• Open the software FM100Hue.exe;

• Close the transparent lid of each plastic box, then open the box. According to the actual order of the caps, adjust the order of the caps in the scoring software.

• Record the sequence of the four boxes sequentially.

• Fill in the subject's name, age, years of work experience, test time, occupation type, notes, etc., and click save (save);

• Then click "Analysis" to see the error score on the right.

Result Interpretation

a. Color discrimination ability (excluding color vision deficient individuals):

• Average color discrimination ability: The total error score for the first test is 20-100, accounting for 68% of the total population;

• Excellent color discrimination ability: The total error score for the first test is 0-16, accounting for 16% of the total population;

• Poor color discrimination ability: The total error score for the first test is >100, accounting for 16% of the total population;

b. Type of color vision deficiency: The model of color vision deficiency is considered bipolar, determined by the axis of the two largest error zones, and its location in the score chart. Click Show Confusion Axis to see:

• Red blindness, red weakness: Primarily along the axis connecting hue cap numbers 17 and 64;

• Green blindness, green weakness: The main axis is the connecting line between color chips numbered 15 and 58;

• Blue blindness, blue weakness: The main axis is the connecting line between color chips numbered 5 and 46;

As shown in Table 2 and the illustration:

Normal is as follows:

Red weakness or red blindness is as follows:

Green weakness or green blindness is as follows:

Blue weakness or blue blindness is as follows:

“Color Blindness” actually refers to an imbalance in a series of ordered colors, that is, the accuracy of distinguishing certain series of colors is not as good as other series of colors; Color blindness charts (such as Ishihara color blindness test charts) can be used to detect color imbalance, but cannot detect the ability to distinguish colors; while the FM100 Munsell color vision test can point out the type of color imbalance, indicate the best and worst color vision areas, and the color discrimination ability in those areas.

Today, the FM100 color vision test system has been designated as a standard test method in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1499 "Inspector Selection, Evaluation and Training Guide" and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) "Evaluation Regulation 9"; In addition, textile purchasers such as Walmart, Target, and Adidas have also specified the use of the FM100 color vision test system in the test procedures for color quality control personnel.

References:

1. Application of FM100-HUE color vision test in medicine by Wang Chunhong, Occupational Medicine, 1998, Vol. 25, No. 6

2. Diagnosis of Defective Colour Vision (V2) by Jennifer Birch MPhil FCOptom, 2001

3. Color Information Engineering, edited by Xu Haisong

4. FM100 product website http://www.xrite.com/top_munsell.aspx?action=products&CategoryID=27

5. The relationship between visual function in the elderly and the lighting environment by Wu Shuying et al., Journal of Optometry, March 2004, No. 6

Note: The text information is compiled from the Internet, and will be deleted if infringement occurs.