Analysis of the Effects of Flicker on the Blood-Flow Variation in the Human Eye

Abstract

Flicker annoyance measurement, regardless if it is performed by processing the supplying voltage or by evaluating the light emitted by the lamp, relies on the assumption of a proper model of the behavior of the complex eye-brain system in the presence of fluctuating light. The only experimental data available are the ones obtained, for a certain incandescent lamp, by asking several people to report their perception about the flicker to which they were subjected. In this paper, the possibility of achieving an ldquoobjectiverdquo evaluation of the flicker effects on a human subject is investigated. In particular, the increment of the blood flow in a vessel at the optic nerve is considered and taken as a possible index of annoyance due to flicker.