Alternative Farnsworth-Munsell Scoring Methodology for Testing Eyewear

Abstract

The Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test (FM100) has been used in clinical and ophthalmic settings for many years. It is a sensitive test for determining individual color defects and is one tool available to the human factors practitioner. However, like many individual evaluation tools developed, it is not completely appropriate as a product assessment tool as is. The FM100 has two main limitations when used as an assessment tool for determining color defects imposed by tinted eyewear such as laser protective lenses. First, the test assumes color defects are bipolar, which is not always true of eyewear. Second, the chromaticity graphs are not always easily understood by non-practitioners. Third, computation of cap scores depends upon adjacent caps, which can absorb or mask differences. A recent assessment of laser protective lens eyewear led to the development of an alternative scoring methodology to remedy the standard score issues when evaluating eyewear.