Color vision assessment: Fail rates of two versions of the farnsworth lantern test

Abstract

Introduction: The Farnsworth lantern test has long been used to assess the color vision of those seeking to enter the aviation industry and other occupations that require recognition of signal lights. A new version of the Farnsworth lantern, the Optec 900™, is now produced because the original version is no longer manufactured. This paper reports the pass/fail rates of a production model of the new version compared with an original one. Methods: There were 100 male subjects with abnormal color vision who were given 3 runs with each lantern test. Their color vision deficiency was diagnosed using a battery of tests including the D15 test and the Nagel anomaloscope. Results: A total of 19% pass..