Appropriate color codes for medical materials and devices in terms of color vision deficiency management to ensure patient safety

Abstract

Some medical professionals have never had color vision tests, preventing them from per­ ceiving their own color vision deficiencies. Color coding is often used for injection nee­ dles, dental root­canal instruments, and other items with different specifications, such as outer diameter, indicating the necessity of special consideration for medical profession­ als with color vision deficiencies. In this study, hue conversion was performed using computers to clarify how the colors of medical materials and devices used in actual set­ tings are seen by individuals with color vision deficiencies. As some injection needles and dental root­canal instruments of adjacent sizes (diameters) were encoded using col­ ors that are indistinguishable to individuals with visual impairment, it may be necessary to indicate the specifications of medical materials and devices, not only using colors, but by also simultaneously providing clear character information, in order to ensure patient safety. (J Osaka Dent Univ 2017 ;51 : 31­38)