Evaluation of an updated HRR color vision test

Abstract

The HRR pseudoisochromatic plate (pip) test was originally designed as a screening and diagnostic test for color vision deficiencies. The original HRR test is now long out of print. We evaluate here the new 4th edition of the HRR test, produced in 2002 by Richmond Products. The 2002 edition was compared to the original 1955 edition for a group of subjects with normal color vision and a group who had been previously diagnosed as having color vision deficiencies. The color deficient subjects spanned the range of severity among people with red-green deficiencies except for one individual who had a mild congenital tritan deficiency. The new test compared favorably with the original and in at least two areas, outperformed it. Among subjects with deutan defects the classification of severity correlated better with the anomaloscope results than the original; all the subjects who were classified as dichromats on the anomaloscope were rated as “severe” on the new HRR, while those diagnosed as anomalous trichromats were rated as mild or medium on the new test. Among those with moderate and severe defects the new test was highly accurate in correctly categorizing subjects as protan or deutan. In addition, a mild tritan subject made a tritan error on the new test whereas he was misdiagnosed as normal on the original.