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A Historical Review of Electromagnetic Therapy Catherine Xu and Harvey N. Mayrovitz (Mentor)

May 2019

Introduction

Magnets and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have been considered throughout history as

an alternative and effective treatment method long before they were understood. The practice is

based on the belief that ailments are caused by an imbalance of electromagnetic frequencies in

the body which can be reversed through an application of a weak external EMF. Physicians from

ancient Greece, Asia, India, and Europe are known to have applied magnetic materials in their

practice. Various ailments and diseases were treated with lodestones to manipulate and restore

the flow of energy. The discovery of the first magnetic substance dates back to a 2nd century BC

poem by Pliny the Elder which entails the discovery of lodestones, a mineral possessing natural

magnetic qualities [1]. The ability of lodestones to attract iron fillings and the ability to attract

lightweight objects when rubbed were considered manifestations of the same phenomenon.

Magnetism and electrostatics were considered to be the same for over 2000 years.

Electromagnetic therapy involves the use of time-varying frequency of various EMFs that

are believed to induce stimulation in living cells by restoring a healthy electrochemical exchange

[2]. EMF exposure has been perceived by some to cause only harmful effects on the body such

as damage to cells and DNA that can lead to cancer [3]. The effect of an EMF, whether it is

harmful or therapeutic may depend on the intensity, frequency, and duration of the field. High

frequency EMFs such as the x-ray are the most disruptive due to its ionizing radiation that can

break electrons bonds in DNA [3]. Energy produced from non-ionizing radiation is not strong

enough to break those bonds [3]. EMFs can penetrate through all tissues ranging from the

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epidermis to bones [4]. One form of therapy uses Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs), a safe

and non-invasive method in reducing pain and inflammation [5-7].

Early Contributors to Electromagnetic Therapy

Georges Lakhovsky (1869 – 1942)

Georges Lakhovsky was a

Russian scientist who published articles

claiming that every living cell has its

own electromagnetic frequency. He

published a paper in 1925 titled “Curing

Cancer with Ultra Radio Frequencies”

declaring that our organs are composed

of cells containing various “mineral matters and acids such as iron, chloride, phosphorus” and “it

is the combination of these elements that the cells detect outside waves and vibrate continuously

at a very high frequency, probably higher than the period of x-rays or over all other vibrations

known and measured today” [8, 9]. He believed that sickness is caused by the inability of human

cells to repel the stronger vibrations of microbes when the amplitude of its own vibration

decreases. The better remedy, he proposed, would be to “reinforce the oscillations of the cell

either directly by reinforcing the radio activity of the blood or in producing on the cells a direct

action by means of the proper rays” [8, 9]. He points out that there are blood and metabolic

groups of cells that appear during certain illnesses and that the blood of a cancerous person

would be different from the blood of a diabetic [9, 10]. Lakhovsky built an apparatus named the

Radio-Cellulo-Oscillator (RCO) that produced short electric waves of 2-10 meters in length to

allow cells with weak vibrations to find its own frequency and oscillate normally through

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resonance [10]. He also mentions that the radio waves he used were harmless and that he never

felt the effect of the frequencies himself, having stayed close to the apparatus for many days.

More information can be found in Lakhovsky’s US patent #1,962,565 (See Appendix A).

In his publication, Lakhovsky began his experimentation on geraniums inoculated with

cancer using Bacterium tumefaciens to test his theory. The RCO used in the experiments

produced wave-lengths of the order of two meters and less, corresponding to 150 MHz [8]. After

inoculation, small tumors the size of cherry pits could be seen. The plant was exposed to the

RCO one month later, for three hours, twice a day. Within sixteen days after the first treatment,

the tumors shrunk and dried up and could easily be detached a few days later. When exposed to

the RCO, the geraniums shed their diseased tissues and were eventually cured of their cancers.

The radio frequency radiations affected only the sick parts of the plant and the healthy tissues

remained unaffected.

He continued his experimentation on another geranium treated in the same way except it

was exposed for three hours, eleven times a day, to the radiation of the oscillator. Within sixteen

days after the first exposure, the tumors began to shrink and dry up and could easily be detached

from the plant exactly like the first experiment. Sixteen plants were left without treatment still

had their tumors. He concluded that plants inoculated with cancer can be treated and cured by the

RCO and continued his experimentation on animals and human beings afflicted with cancer.

The experiments he carried out on patients between 1924 and 1929 in various hospitals in

Paris using his short-wave oscillator proved to be effective. Despite the improvements of the

patients, he concluded that the apparatus was unable to reinforce the oscillation of all cells in the

organism, each with their own vibration frequency [10]. He thought that development of an

electric field capable of including all the frequencies of the cells would succeed in reinforcing

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the cellular oscillation and allow the organism to sufficiently battle victoriously against disease

[10]. With the aid of Tesla, he eventually succeeded in building his multiple wave oscillator

(MWO) using Telsa coils, capable of producing waves of lengths ranging from 3 meters to the

infra-red which was able to cure hundreds of cases that were thought to be incurable [10, 11]. In

one case, Lakhovsky treats a 68-year-old female with epithelioma in the corner of the left eye

and left nose. She was previously treated ineffectively by another doctor using X-rays and lost

her memory. Lakhovsky used his MWO and the size of the epithelioma was reduced within 7

days. Her memory was also observed to have improved and the tumor was completely gone

within two months [10]. More of Lakhovsky’s experiments can be found described in his book

“The Secret of Life” which contains many of his written papers.

By 1941, Lakhovsky went to New York and was approached by many people and

organizations hoping to test out his device. However, Lakhovsky was struck by a car at the age

of 73 and died 3 days later from his injuries. Most of his equipment was removed from the

hospitals and his work remained unknown to the American public and slowly disappeared and

was forgotten. Fortunately, an original Lakhovsky MWO was found by Dr. Bob Beck who

managed to access the machine. He wrote articles that explained how the machine worked which

were published in the Borderlands Journal. The compilation of articles by researchers on the

MWO and articles written by Lakhovsky himself were put together into a manual called “The

Lakhovsky Multiple Wave Oscillator Handbook” published by Borderlands.

Royal Raymond Rife (1888-1971)

A man with passion for medical imaging, Raymond Rife built a microscope with superior

magnification power that could view viruses and other pathogens in their live state (See

Appendix B). His previous work led him to believe that disease was caused by microorganisms

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and proved this theory with his microscope. After he

was able to isolate pathogenic organisms, he

conceived an idea that it would be possible to “create

an electronic frequency that was in the correct

coordination or resonance of the chemical

constituents of a given organism or virus” [12]. He

discovered that pathogens could be destroyed by

bombarding them with certain electromagnetic

frequencies that they shatter and die. He penned this

as the Mortal Oscillatory Rate (MOR), the frequency at which a microorganism is destroyed.

Through years of experimentation, Rife invented the Frequency Instrument, a device that could

produce beams of frequencies needed to destroy various microorganisms. Records show that he

found the MOR for many microorganisms including cholera, tuberculosis, and diphtheria with

his microscope and beam ray technology. In his search for the microorganism that caused cancer,

he inadvertently discovered a virus in breast tumor he named the BX virus that he was able to

destroy once he found its MOR. The MOR was found through observations under a high power

universal microscope where the BX virus would be seen to “blow up” or disintegrate under a

specific frequency, when the MOR is reached [12].

Rife moved his research towards living creatures and introduced the BX virus into rats.

After tumors developed in the rats, he used his beam ray and completely healed them. In

response to these results, he was encouraged to try the beam ray on humans. In 1934, the first

clinical trial was conducted at a California clinic on sixteen patients who had various cancers

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[12]. The procedure consisted of 3-minute

durations of the frequency instrument et at the

mortal oscillatory rate for BX cancer in 3 day

intervals. After 3 months, 14 of the patients

were declared cured by the staff of in which 14

patients were cured within 70 days and the

remaining two were cured three weeks later

[12]. Rife found that the elapsed time between treatments delivered better results than daily

treatment because the lymphatic system needed enough time in between sessions to remove the

dead virus from the body [12]. A summary of his research on bacteria and viral characteristics

can be found in his article, “History of the Development of a Successful Treatment for Cancer

and Other Virus, Bacteria And Fungi” [12].

Rife and his associates had set up the Ray Beam Tube Corporation to develop and

manufacture the Rife Machine but was later entangled in a long and expensive lawsuit that

brought about an end to the production and the company. Many of Rife’s paper and parts of his

microscope gradually disappeared and physicians using his machines were threatened with loss

of their licenses by the American Medical Association. As a result of the loss of his lab and the

lawsuit, Rife spent the rest of his life as an alcoholic and died on August 11, 1971 of a heart

attack. A book by Barry Lynes, “The Cancer Cure that Worked”, published in 1986, brought

Rife’s technology back to public knowledge [13].

Harold Saxton Burr (1889 – 1973)

Harold Saxton Burr was a professor of Anatomy at the Yale University School of

Medicine who conducted a series of experiments to measure the bio-magnetic field that could be

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found in living organisms. He believed that the

fields of life, or L-fields, are important for

rebuilding molecules and cells in the body that

“serves as a matrix or mould [sic], which preserves

the ‘shape’ or arrangement of any material poured

into it” [14]. The inspection of L-fields can be done

using special voltmeters and electrodes that reveal

different patterns of voltage in different parts of the field. They are detected by measuring the

difference in voltage between two points on the surface of an organism using a vacuum-tube

voltmeter or by dipping the index finger of each hand into a bowl of saline solution connected to

a voltmeter [14]. Dr. Burr observed that an L-field with an abnormal voltage-pattern could

signify that something is wrong with the body, sometimes in advance of any presented

symptoms. He provides an example of ovary malignancy in a female patient that had been

revealed by L-field measurements before any clinical signs were observed. Dr. Burr believed that

abnormalities in L-field voltages would be able to provide advanced warnings of future

symptoms associated with not just cancer, but also a variety of physical problems once the L-

fields are better understood [14].

Dr. Burr discovered that the L-field could predict the precise moment a female may

ovulate over the entire menstrual period, which is possible due to a substantial rise in voltage

preceding ovulation and a rapid fall in voltage once the egg is released [14]. A patient was said

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to have regularly measured the voltages of her own L-field by dipping her fingers into bowls of

saline connected to a voltmeter, and was able to conceive a child after seeing a rapid rise in her

voltages one day [14]. He also mentions that small wounds could change the voltages of the L-

field which can offer surgeons a reliable method in determining the rate of healing [14]. The L-

fields were also hypothesized to be useful in assessing the general state of the whole-body using

voltage-differences to reveal the human force-field [14]. Conditions such as malignancy and

ovulation can be detected by “measuring changes in the L-field of the body at a distance from the

affected organs” which shows “that it is a true field that is measured and not some surface

potential” [14].

Dr. Burr also decided to apply L-fields to the neurological and psychiatric fields. He

hypothesized that the L-fields can be used to assess the general effects of drugs, sleep, or

hypnosis which future psychiatrists could use to measure the intensity of grief or anger

electrically, as easily as measuring temperature. He worked with Dr. Ravitz who established a

baseline voltage gradient measurement of healthy mental functioning individuals. Using electro-

metric techniques on psychiatric patients could determine when they could be safely discharged

from the hospital based on a return to a normal voltage gradient. Studies have found that strong

emotions during hypnosis can cause a rise in voltage from 15 to 20 mV [15].

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While Dr. Burr was experimenting on men and women, he also explored the fields in

other forms of life to ensure that these fields are a universal property of all living organisms. He

explored the fields of frog and salamander eggs to support his theory that the fields control

growth and development of the form. Micro-pipettes filled with salt solution connected to a

voltmeter were used to find the different voltages across multiple the axes of the egg. He was

able to determine that the nervous system of the frog always grew along the axis with the highest

voltage gradient which indicated that the field shapes the living form [14].The maximum voltage

location of the unfertilized salamander egg was determined to be a blueprint for the development

of the nervous system [16]. He continued his experiments on salamanders and chick embryo’s

which all produced the same results.

Based on these results, Burr reasoned that since normal biological development

correlated with a bio-electric field that appeared prior to development, an appearance of

abnormal bio-electric fields would accompany abnormal growth [16]. He tested this hypothesis

on two different genetic strains of mice by investigating the bio-electric properties of the

organism at different times during the onset of cancer. One strain of mice was bred for immunity

to breast cancer and the second strain was inbred so that 90% of the females acquire mammary

cancer [17]. At the age of 150 days, Burr made measurements on each cancer-free mouse every

two weeks using a microvoltmeter [18] to measure the voltages at the xiphoid of the sternum and

the symphysis between the pubic bones, across the groins and chest, the xiphoid of each groin

and each side of the chest [17]. The cancer-susceptible mice appeared to have cancer before the

260th day and the voltage across the chest increased between ten to fourteen weeks prior to the

detection of the malignant tumor by palpation [16]. Based on the results of the experiment, Burr

was able to conclude from thousands of measurements that an abnormal distribution of voltages

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preceded the appearance of abnormal tissue in the affected area of the body in comparison to

voltage distribution found in mice with no palpable cancer [16]. Burr continued his experiments

in bio-electric field relations between normal and abnormal tissues on various organisms such as

rabbits, monkeys, and humans.

Bjorn Nordenstrom (1920 - 2007)

A Swedish radiologist and surgeon, Dr.

Bjorn Nordenstrom started a scientific

investigation into the anomalies he observed in X-

ray images of lung tumors. He observed a specific

image of a lung tumor with strange structures

apparent around masses. After years of analysis, he

concluded that these structures, with an appearance

similar to the corona of the sun, represent modification of tissue activated by injury [19]. The

corona structures surrounding the tumor was the result of water and ion movement due to various

electrical and electrochemical phenomena. He proposed a self-regulating model for healing

involving various biologically closed electric circuits (BCEC), a system of circulating energy

and electrical currents that support healing, metabolism, regulation, immune response, etc. [19].

Nordenstrom theorized that the electrical potential of the tumor oscillated between positive and

negative values as part of the body’s normal healing process [20]. He postulated that this

electrical activity could be manipulated by the clinician by placing an electrode percutaneously

in the tumor and making it electropositive (anode), while the other electrode (cathode) is placed

elsewhere in normal tissue surrounding the tumor to complete the electrical circuit [20]. (See

Appendix C). He realized that the tumor had a considerable amount of cell degradation which

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made the region positively charged and highly acidic [20]. He believed that the presence of the

positive anode in the tumor would promote the flow of ions between the tumor and the vascular

system as well as increase the flow of white blood cells into the area [20]. The mechanisms

transfer ions and white blood cells in the membranes of the capillaries under the influence of

electric field induced contraction which promotes various activities associated with the healing

process [19]. This theory was tested on patients with inoperable lung or breast tumors and

resulted in 50 percent of the cancers regressing or disappearing completely [14]. Through

Nordenstrom’s BCEC theory, he developed electrochemical therapy (EChT) for the treatment of

cancer and hemangioma tumors. This type of therapy is believed to assist the body’s normal

BCEC healing process by assisting the natural electric fields and currents involved in the process

of healing [19]. EChT is an alternative treatment for tumors by applying a low intensity direct

electric current to the tumor tissue using platinum electrodes placed within the tumor or in the

surrounding areas [21]. This treatment is said to be highly effective for the treatment of localized

tumors and provides a low-cost and minimally invasive technique. [21]. Nordenstrom’s theories

and results can also be applied to wound healing associated with various eye diseases such as

macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa [20].

Robert O Becker (1923 – 2008)

Robert O Becker was an orthopedic surgeon who was

fascinated in electrobiology and the role it plays in

regeneration. Becker investigated the electric currents in bone

and observed the effects of magnetic fields on human

behavior. He believed that it would be possible to stimulate

the growth process such as the regeneration of missing body

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parts by directing the currents flowing within the central nervous system. This would generate a

system that would link the mechanism between electromagnetic fields in the environment and in

living things [22]. (See Appendix D) It had been previously identified that bone could be

piezoelectric, the ability of a material to generate and electric charge in response to an applied

mechanical stress [22]. Becker extended these observations using bone subjected to mechanical

stress and found that collagen and apatite had properties similar to semiconductivity. Since bone

growth, according to Wolff’s law, occurs on the concave side and bone resorption occurs on the

convex side, Becker postulated that negative potentials could produce stimulation of the

osteoblasts and osteocytes, while positive potentials could facilitate bone resorption by

stimulating osteoclasts [22]. Testing this hypothesis on experimental animals, Backer, Bassett,

and Pawluk were able to demonstrate that bone growth did occur near the negative electrode

with currents less than 3 μamp, while growth did not occur near the anode [23]. They found that

bone may be considered a “self-organizing system” and that an “application of mechanical stress

will produce the deposition of new bone matrix in the area of compression, with collagen fibers

oriented to best resist the applied stress” [22]. In the living system, the osteocytes and osteoblasts

can be stimulated by the negative electrical environment to produce additional collagen

molecules [22].

Becker investigated how healing occurred in frogs by studying the changes at injury sites

compared to the measured electrical changes [24]. The results from the study displayed that cells

near the injury site transformed into stem cells during healing as a result of electrical signals

from the nervous system. He then focused his work on regeneration of limbs in animals and

humans. Becker stimulated partial limb regeneration using low voltage direct current (DC) [25].

A low voltage DC was applied to the stumps of amputated rate forelimbs and it was reported that

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after 7 and 28 days, he observed new growth and was able to conclude that regenerative growth

can be stimulated through appropriate levels of electrical stimulation [26]. Becker also explored

stimulating regenerative healing in humans and thought it would be a possible alternative to

prosthetic use.

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Appendix

A-1

Apparatus with circuits oscillating under multiple wavelengths Lakhovsky Georges

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Appendix A-2

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Appendix B

Incandescent Light Bulb Royal Raymond Rife

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Appendix C

Electrode device intended to be introduced into the body of a living being Bjorn Nordenstrom

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Appendix D

Iontophoretic system for stimulation of tissue healing and regeneration Robert O. Becker, A. Bartholomew Flick, Adam J. Becker

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