Genetic Testing For Color Vision Makes Commercial Debut for Military Applications

Possibly heralding a new era in the use of genetic testing for hiring decisions, Genevolve (Albuquerque, NM) announced at the recent Aerospace Medicine Association conference in Atlanta, GA a new “military grade” test for inherited color blindness. A few years ago we posted on research done at the Neitz lab at the University of Washington that used gene therapy to cure color blindness in monkeys. Aspects of that research were used to produce the technology Genevolve uses for its test, called Eyedox. Eyedox uses a buccal swab that is sent to the company, which analyzes the sample for color genes (likely the ones detailed in this review paper by Neitz) and returns the type of deficiency and severity on a scale of 1-100, 100 being normal.

A press release from the company details what they envision the test could be used for:

     “This prevents a qualified applicant from being denied entry into a field they can adequately perform and eliminates cheating or administrator bias that may allow some severely colorblinds to slip through the system,” says [President of Genevolve]...