Ishihara test

The Ishihara test is a color vision test for detection of red–green color deficiencies. It was named after its designer, Shinobu Ishihara, a professor at the University of Tokyo, who first published his tests in 1917. The test consists of a number of Ishihara plates, which are a type of pseudoisochromatic plate. Each plate depicts a solid circle of colored dots appearing randomized in color and size. Within the pattern are dots which form a number or shape clearly visible to those with normal color vision, but which are difficult or impossible to see for those with a red–green color vision deficiency. Other plates are intentionally designed to reveal numbers only to those with a red–green color vision deficiency, and be invisible to those with normal red–green color vision. The full test consists of 38 plates, but the existence of a severe deficiency is usually apparent after only a few plates. There are also Ishihara tests consisting of 10, 14 or 24 test plates, and plates in some versions ask the viewer to trace a line rather than read a number.