CRITICAL FLICKER FUSION FREQUENCY – YOUR PERSONAL WELLNESS NUMBER

A New Tool in Wellness Assessment

The flicker fusion frequency, or Critical Frequency of Flicker, abbreviated CFF, is the rate at which the brain recognizes successive light flashes, or flickering, disappears and the light appears to be continuously on. CFF is related to persistence of vision[1]. This same persistence phenomenon allows us to see smooth transitions of still frames in a moving picture or television.

CFF studies on the physiology of vision can be traced back for over a hundred years. Only recently has CFF been applied to studies on physiological stress and health. CFF is not the same for every observer. The fusion frequency is lower for a fatigued or anxious observer. Decrease in the critical fusion frequency has been used as an index for central fatigue[2]. Some medications, alcohol or drugs, as well as a depressed immune system, will also lower your CFF or Wellness Number. Consequently, knowing your subjective CFF can help you assess your overall personal wellness. Recent studies indicate that knowing this number may be as important as knowing other common health indicators, such as your blood pressure or cholesterol levels.

Your Wellness Number is based upon your personal Critical Flicker Frequency, which is often measured by having the observer view a rapidly flashing light which appears to be steadily lit. The frequency of the flashing is then slowed in small steps and the observer presses a button when he or she sees the light begin to flicker. This point is the Critical Flicker Fusion Point. This test is then reversed with the light source flickering at a lower frequency and then increasing in small steps until the light appears steady.

While you cannot compare your Wellness Number to someone else’s, once you have established your baseline Number you can track your overall wellness. The higher your Wellness Number the healthier you are, the lower your Wellness Number the more stressed and dis-eased you are.

All NuTesla instruments are able to measure and display your Wellness Number as a two digit value using a series of colored flashes. More importantly, after displaying your Wellness Number each instrument will run a personalized therapy program using your number as the base frequency. Since this is your body’s unique frequency this personalized program reinforces your body’s systems and prepares it for any subsequent program selected by the user.

Cone cells are the color sensitive photoreceptor cells in the central region of the retina of the eye and function best in relatively bright light. The motion-sensitive rod cells in the periphery of our retina have little, if any, role in color vision; however they are 100 times more sensitive to light[3]. For this reason, NuTesla uses Red light as the flicker fusion measuring color to provide the most consistent measurement. The method for measuring your CFF or Wellness Number varies slightly for each type of NuTesla instrument and its important to refer to the complete User Guide for the specific steps to follow.

[1] http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Critical_flicker_fusion_threshold
[2] Earnst Simonson and Norbert Enzer, Measurement of fusion frequency of flicker as a test for fatigue of the central nervous system, J. Indus. Hyg. Tox. ,23, 1941, 83-89
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_cell