AO HRR Pseudoisochromatic plates

Historical Significance: The American Optical Hardy-Rand-Rittler (AOHRR) pseudoisochromatic plates were first published in the 1955 having been developed from the handmade AO-HRR Polychromatic plates The second edition (1957) was from the same print run (Dain Clin Exp Optom 2004; 87: 276-293) and only the plate order was changed. The test was highly regarded but when the print run was exhausted, American Optical did not invest in the production of another edition, which meant replacing superseded printing inks. Richmond Products have published a replica of the test but copies of the original test are rare. The research on which the test was developed was done at the Knapp Memorial Laboratory of Physiological Optics in the Institute of Ophthalmology of the Presbyterian Hospital and the Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia University, New York. LeGrand Hardy (1895-1954) was Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Columbia University. New York and Director of the Knapp Laboratory. Marie Gertrude Rand AB, AM, PhD in psychology (1886-1970) was the first woman to become a Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and was a research associate in the Knapp Laboratory. She was awarded the IES's Gold Medal and the Edgar D. Tillyer Medal of the Optical Society of America in 1959. Catherine Rittler (1926-2008) taught at the Harkness Eye Institute at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1936 to 1971. She helped develop the ruby laser to treat eye disorders. See also Cat. No. 3677