Wednesday, 12 May 2010

Ishihara Colour-Blindness Tests






Today we look at Tests for Colour Blindness by Shinobu Ishihara.
The Ishihara Colour Test is a test for red-green color deficiencies. It was named after its designer, Dr. Shinobu Ishihara, a professor at the University of Tokyo, who first published his tests in 1917. The test consists of a number of colored plates, called Ishihara plates, each of which contain a circle of dots, randomised in color and size. Within the pattern are dots which form a number visible to those with normal color vision and invisible, but difficult to see for those with a red-green colour vision defect. The full test consists of 38 plates. Common plates include a circle of dots in shades of green and light blues with a figure differentiated in shades of brown, or a circle of dots in shades of red, orange and yellow with a figure in shades of green.
The Library's Special Collections include a number of rare or valuable titles, some dating back to the sixteenth century. These titles are mostly held in the Mackintosh Library. Because of the value of these itmes, special access arrangement are in place, with viewing strictly by appointment only with our Academic Liasion Librarians.