Introducing a new computer-based test for the clinical evaluation of color discrimination.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the Portal color sort test (PCST), a new computer-based test of color vision, by comparing it with a series of clinical tests of color vision in normal and color deficient subjects.


METHODS
Prospective clinical laboratory study.


METHODS
Fifty-nine subjects with normal trichromatic vision or with congenital color vision defects underwent a series of color vision tests that included the 15-plate Ishihara test, the D-15 Farnsworth-Munsell test (D-15), the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue test (FM 100-Hue), and the PCST under rigorous standardized conditions, as recommended by the respective manufacturers. The PCST generates a numerical discrimination score comparable to the FM 100-Hue.


RESULTS
To test validity, discrimination scores generated by the PCST were compared with scores on the FM 100-Hue. The Spearman rank correlation between discrimination scores on the FM 100-Hue and the PCST was 0.8 (P < .001). Reliability was assessed by asking patients to retake the PCST at a later sitting. Patients retaking the PCST achieved similar scores on their second sitting as on the first. The correlation in the score between the two tests was 0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4-0.9, P < .001). Median (quartiles) time to complete the PCST was 3.1 minutes. This was faster than the FM 100-Hue time (P < .001), but slower than both the Ishihara and the D-15 (both P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that the PCST, a test of color vision deficiency, can be used effectively and reliably as a tool for screening (comparable to the Ishihara plates and the D-15) and grading (comparable to the FM 100-Hue) color discrimination ability.
Melamud
Alex
A
Cole Eye Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Simpson
Ellen
E
Traboulsi
Elias I
EI
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003118:Color Perception; D003119:Color Perception Tests / Q000379:methods*; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results