Servias Ministries Blog

Acupuncture evolved from ancient Chinese observations of a correspondence between energy in meridians and the condition of organs and systems in the human body. The science of acupuncture views meridian dysfunction as an indicator of organ or system dysfunction. Acupuncturists observed that stimulation of points along the meridian was selective for correcting this dysfunction.

Ellis, Andrew, Wiseman, Nigel & Boss, Ken, Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture, Revised Edition (Brookline: Paradigm Publications 1991)

Robert Becker demonstrated that certain areas of the skin have a conductive response better than others. These areas of enhanced conductance lie in locations overlying the meridians. Becker, Robert O. & Selden, Gary, The Body Electric (New York: William Morrow 1985)

Becker, Robert O., Cross Currents (Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher 1990

Rheinhold Voll et al were able to demonstrate a response in the organ and system sites when they stimulated the corresponding skin points with a small electrical current. Their method was o place the subject in an open circuit with the subject holding the ground wire of the circuit. top

A painless voltage from a DC battery was introduced into the series circuit. The circuit was closed when the positive probe was touched to the skin surface. One of two outcomes could be observed. 1) The resistance of the skin would not change over the span that the probe was applied, and 2) The resistance would decrease over the span of time the probe is applied. The first condition was defined as an ‘indicator balance’. The latter condition was defined as an ‘indicator drop’. Using the Chinese acupuncture paradigm, the indicator status of the ‘balance’ or ‘drop’ was representative of changes occurring at sites correlating to the acupuncture point.

This paradigm held that electromagnetic indicator balance was representative of normality at that acupuncture point; whereas an indicator drop was representative of an abnormality.

Voll, et al also observed that indicator drops could be “balanced” by introducing certain substances into the circuitry. These observations, made initially by serendipity, developed into a robust system of site detection and voltage balancing. When first discovered, substances were simply held in proximity to the subject. Subsequently substances have been placed in proximity to an aluminum test plate that was part of the series loop of the detection device.

More recently information from a large variety substance has been digitized by analog to digital conversion and stored in a computer as a binary code. Most computers store around 4000 to 5000 signals. They can be placed in the series loop manually or blindly when selecting for signal balance. Coded signals include chemicals, pharmaceuticals, herbals, homeopathic remedies, sarcodes (organs), biologicals, metals, toxins, nutrients, and metabolic substances. A listing of these computer codes will be the subject of future web logs.

Detection of internal events by electrical changes in the skin is commonplace in medicine today. Electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms are two technologies that reflect voltage changes in the skin as a result of changes in voltage in the heart and brain respectively. Oximeters, pulse-rate meters, and digitized blood pressure are some of the other devices that are used extensively for rapid and continuous patient monitoring.

This web log is my attempt to address some of the problems of technique and language in electrodermal detection so as to make this technology understandable. Future discussions will focus on clinical conditions that can be addressed by most of you who are interested in this exciting new way of looking at medical problems.

The detection system consists of:

A closed loop circuit in series with:

A biological subject

A computer

A software program with digitized codes

An electronic device with: an analog to digital and a digital to analog integrated circuit A DC battery.

The system is connected in series with a test subject holding a negatively charged brass hand piece and an operator holding a positively charged probe. During the time operator touches the skin of the test subject with the probe an electromagnetic current is conducted through the system at 1.25v, 10-12 μ amps. The subject resists at 95 kilo ohms. One of two things happens to the voltmeter dial during this time of application: either the dial remains steady ‘Balanced’, or it drops ‘Indicator drop’. If the dial remains steady it implies that there is electromagnetic conductance through the system. It is “on”. If the dial drops, it implies that there is a decrease of conductance through the system. It is “off”. The application of a current generated in the device causes the biological host to respond. It is a bio-feed back reaction to an electric stimulus. The “indicator drop” is therefore a phase going from conductance to non-conductance. It is the phase of going from “on” to “off”. Since “on” is good and “off” is bad, an attempt is made to turn the system “on”, that is restore full conductance.

Restoring conductance is done by doing two things:

1) Select a code producing a balance by sorting through the software encoded signals in the computer.

2) Place a substance directly on a test plate that is in the series circuit if a computer is not used

An analog to digital integrated circuit converts the amplitude of the analog wave in the subject’s electromagnetic pathway to a square wave that is encoded in the computer software. The algorithm of this integrated circuit converts the amplitude of an analog wave to an equivalent width square wave.

During the detection process the stored digital codes, as part of the series circuit, pass through another integrated circuit, one that converts a digital to analog wave identical to the subject’s analog wave. It is this reconstructed wave that interacts with the subject’s analog wave that is conducting information from a site within the body to the skin surface.

Galvanic skin resistance is measured at the probe site on the skin surface. By Ohm’s Law, Resistance =1/Conductance, so in effect when we measure skin resistance we also measure conductance. The conductance pathway from a specific site within the body is determined by the site where the probe is placed.

Codes in the software are a sting of ‘1’s and ‘0’s (Reminds me of ancient Latin scripts without punctuation) but fortunately the computer programmers have been able to isolate the encrypted codes and have made provision for assigning the encryptions with a ‘plain language’ name so that we can identify them. The encryption and the plain language name can be catalogued for later use.

The name “Electroacupuncture” is somewhat misleading. Electrodermal detection is not invasive, skin is not being punctured and a current of injury is not being produced. Acupuncture is a therapeutic method, whereas, electrodermal detection is simply that – a detection method. It utilizes an information gathering device that measures skin resistance for detecting frequencies that originate in the body and are expressed or detected on the skin. These detection sites are aligned in linear arrays that generally correspond to the acupuncture meridia.

In acupuncture theory, energy flows through the meridia, but this theory has yet to be firmly established. One can see from the Atlas of Detection Sites a clear linear distribution of sites. These sites are discrete. Each detection site on the skin represents a discrete site of origin for a signal within the body. There are similarities and differences of the detection sites. Part of the signal causes it to resonate along the detection array on the skin surface but part of the signal causes it to be discrete enough to be detectable only at certain sites along the array

In an effort to make frequency detection more clinically relevant, I have developed a manual listing the currently known detection sites according to organs and systems and have indexed them so that they can be located on a page in the Atlas of Detection Sites. The atlas graphically illustrates the detection sites according to their location on the body. Since there is an overlap between acupuncture points and electrodermal detection sites, some still use the older acupuncture point terminology. I refer to ‘acupuncture points’ as ‘detection sites’ and ‘acupuncture meridians’ as ‘detection arrays’.

I made a manual of electrodermal profiles for clinical conditions. This is my attempt to fit electrodermal detection into a scheme that may be used for medical care management as a complementary tool or as a ‘stand alone methodology’. There are patterns of electromagnetic signals associated with clinical diagnoses. These patterns are very complex and change over time. In this series, I hope to demonstrate that modification of electromagnetic signals parallels clinical improvement. It is not hard to do.

References:

Becker, Robert O. & Selden, Gary, The Body Electric (New York: William Morrow 1985)

Becker, Robert O., Cross Currents (Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher 1990)

Tsuei, Julia, Lam, Fred M. K. & Chou, Pesus Clinical Application of the EDST (IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine pp 67-75, Volume 15, Number 3 1996)

Tsuei, Julia, Science of Acupuncture-Theory and Practice (IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine pp 52-57, Volume 15, Number 3 1996)

Yeargers, Edward K. Basic Physics for Biology (Boca Raton: CRC Press 1992)

Werner, Fritz, Electro-acupuncture Primer (Uelzen: Medizinisch Litarische Verlagsgesellschaft mbH 1979)

Wolfgang, Larry D., Understanding Basic Electronics (USA: The American Radio Relay League 1992)

Bechtloff, Friedrich, Electroakupunctur nach Voll: EAV; eine Darstellung in Bereichen (Uelzen: Medizinisch Literarische Verlagsgesellshaft 1991)

Brügemann, Hans, Bioresonance and Multiresonance Therapy (Brussels: Haug 1993)

Carpenter, David O. & Ayrapetyan, Sinerik, Biological Effects of Electric and Magnetic Fields, Volume 1 & 2(San Diego: Academic Press 1994)

Chen, Kuo-Gen, Electrical Properties of Meridians (IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine pp 58-63, Volume 15, Number 3 1996)

Chu-Andrews, Jennifer, & Johnson, Robert J., Electrodiagnosis: An Anatomical and Clinical Approach (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott 1986)

Dempster, John, Computer Analysis of Electrophysiological Signals (London: Academic Press1993

Ellis, Andrew, Wiseman, Nigel & Boss, Ken, Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture, Revised Edition (Brookline: Paradigm Publications 1991)

Gerber, Richard, Vibrational Medicine (Santa Fe: Bear & Company 1988)

Hecker,Hans-Ulrich, Steveling, Angelica, Peuker, Elmar, Kastner Jörg & Liebchen, Kay, Color Atlas of Acupuncture (Stuttgart: Thieme 1999)

Kenyon, Julian N., Modern Techniques of Acupuncture Volume I-III (Willingborough, Northamptonshire England: Thorsons Publishing Group 1985)

Leber, Douglas C. Acupro II System™, Computronix Corporation, 1991

Petzold, Charles, Code (Redmond: Microsoft Press 1999

Pohlmann, Ken C., Principles of Digital Audio, 3rd Edition (McGraw-Hill 1995)

Popp. Fritz-Albert, Warnke, Ulrich, König, Herbert L.& Peschka, Walter, Electromagnetic Bio-Information 2nd Edition (München-Wien-Baltimore: Urban and Schwartzenberg 1989)

Richer, Paul, Anatomie Artistique, Paris, 1889. Translated and edited by Hale, Robert B., Artistic Anatomy (New York: Watson-Guptill Publications 1971)

Serway, Raymond A.,and Faughn, Jerry S., College Physics Vol 1& 2, 5th Edition (Fort Worth: Saunders College

Publishing 1999)

Wolfgang, Larry D., Understanding Basic Electronics (USA: The American Radio Relay League 1992)

Vincent J. Speckhart M.D.

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The subject of this discussion is taken from the title of a book written by Edgar K. Yeargers PhD, a professor of biophysics at Georgia Tech. His book was written so that student of physics would be able to understand that the rules of physics for nonliving systems also apply to living systems.

Our discussion will involve understanding the interaction of electric charges. By convention a proton is assigned to be a positive charge and an electron is assigned be a negative charge.

Material substances are mostly neutral in charge but are composed of large fixed positive and negative charges. If there is an imbalance in the charges, the material it is said to be “charged” with each charge exerting a force on the other- “unlike charges attract, like charges repel”.

On the other hand, charges that are opposite in sign and equal in magnitude, when aligned along a common axis, are called an electric dipole. When dipole charges move, they move independently of each other. When oscillating up or down along their axis, they pass each other going in opposite directions. In doing so, a variable electric force and a corresponding electric field effect develops. The field effect can be propagated some distance away from the oscillating dipole and can be detected on the skin by an electromagnetic sensor.

In the laboratory dipole antennas generate large (macroscopic) radiations

Below is an oscillating electrical dipole:

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipole

On a submicroscopic scale, as in living systems, the antenna is replaced by an oscillating emission source that cannot be measured directly. There is evidence that dipole generated radiations do exist and that they come from nuclei, electrons, light and chemical bonds and numerous other sources. It is postulated that oscillations in living systems produce propagated electromagnetic waves.

Electromagnetic radiations (waves) have:

Amplitude (height of the wave)

Amplitude is proportional to strength of the electric force

Amplitude may be positive or negative coinciding with the direction of the electrical charge resulting from the dipole movement

Frequency (rate of change of a charge in oscillating from positive to negative

Energy

Is proportional to the wavelength of the oscillating wave

Short wavelengths have higher energy than long wavelengths

Electric field effect

May be local, at the site of the oscillating dipole

May be propagated at a distant site such as, the skin or a secondary detection site

Propagation of the electric field is at the speed of light

Remember that a wave is a variable electric charge. It is not a line on a piece of paper that is represented as a sine wave.

Characteristics of electromagnetic waves

Interference

One of the characteristics of propagating waves is that they interfere with one another.

When the peaks and troughs of two identical waves meet, they are said to have a condition of constructive interference because the arithmetic sum of the resulting wave is bigger (more intense) than either of the two contributing waves.

When the peak of one wave coincides with the trough of another identical wave the arithmetic sum of the resulting wave is zero. This is a condition of destructive interference.

By using the electromagnetic model in the study of biology we use a paradigm built upon the most essential elements in our physical existence:

1. Oscillating dipoles producing variable electric fields

2. Variable electric fields propagating at a distance from the dipole source.

These two elements are found at all levels of structure.

They are found in:

Subatomic particles

Atoms

Molecules

Hydrated molecules essential in biology such as sols and gels

Cells

Tissue

Organs

Systems

Each level of structure has dipole depicted waves that are derived from components that make up structure, the result of constructive and destructive interference. For example, waves from subatomic particles are the components that make up an atom. Waves from atoms are the components of molecules, etc.

Locally, at the site where the variable electric field originates, a charge has its own amplitude, frequency and energy, that is, bits of information that gives the charge an identity. In that sense this model can be understood as being information technology. When applied to a living system it is information technology in biology.

Electric fields from each level of structure radiate distally. The ability of variable electric fields to radiate distally is the characteristic that is of most interest to us. In addition to having amplitude, oscillating frequency and energy like the charge at the site of the oscillating dipole, radiating electric charges have an additional characteristic of being able to be propagated to a distal site and to be detected at the site of termination.

In propagating, the electric field, depicted graphically as a wave, results from all of the constructive and destructive interferences it encounters from other sources as it propagates along its conductance pathway. The net result is that portions of some propagating waves are amplified and some portions are neutralized.

Radiating electric fields do not scatter but are modified by forces from the mix of surrounding electric fields to form discrete propagation pathways.

The distal site of propagation, in our model, is the skin.

The propagation pathway conducts both energy and bits of information.

The basis for our evaluation is to match analog wave information from the test subject with digital information in the form of pulse codes stored in the computer.

The propagation pathway is not an anatomical structure such as a nerve, but is a

non-anatomic electromagnetic channel carrying energy and information from a site of origin to a site of detection.

In the acupuncturist model energy is conducted through conductance pathways called acupuncture meridians. Our electromagnetic model detects information imbedded in the energetized conductance pathway

Our next discussion will focus on the instruments used in doing an analysis.

Reference:

Yeargers, Edward K. Basic Physics for Biology (Boca Raton: CRC Press 1992)

Vincent J, Speckhart MD, MD (H)

When we think of healing we usually think of wound healing. In this type of healing, there is a complex sequence of events that occur immediately after the injury, all carefully orchestrated by a cascade of biochemical reactions that end in repair of the injured site.

These phases are:

Inflammatory phase:

Formation of a cascade of clotting factor to stop bleeding

Platelets aggregation forming a mass (plug) by sticking to one another

Vasoconstriction-an initial narrowing of blood vessels to stop bleeding

A subsequent vasodilatation, to increase healing factors into the wound

Polymorphonuclear neutrophil influx (White blood cells) which:

Help to digest debris and bacteria

Kill bacteria by releasing oxygen free radicals

Clean the wound by secreting enzymes that degrade damaged tissue Undergo apoptosis-a process of programmed cell death

Macrophages (immune white cell) which:

Engulf and degrade white blood cells

Stimulate cells that cover the wound with skin

Create granulation tissue, connective tissue and tiny blood vessel on the surfaces of a wound during the healing process

Lay down extracellular matrix-a gel-like complex sugar that binds cells together

Proliferative phase (a phase of rapid production of new cells and substances)

Angiogenesis-the making of new blood vessels needed for healing

Fibrin and fibronectin-cross-linked fibrous strands to trap proteins and particles

Deposition of collagen-the main protein of connective tissue

Formation of fibrous connective tissue

Epithelialization phase

Final stage of healing with formation of skin over the wound

Contraction

Shortening of the scar

You may pass off your injury with the comment “Oh, it’s just a cut” but you can see from the above outline that the process of healing is incredibly dynamic and complex.

Repair of other types of tissues like bone, nerve, tendon, muscle etc. require similar complex interactions. Viruses, fungi, bacteria and parasitic infections can cause disease and have to be controlled to maintain a state of health as do chemical toxins and toxic metals. There are unique processes in place for healing in each of these areas.

I want to emphasize the word process. That is, there is a beginning, an intermediate phase and an ending. Healing events take place over time, not instantaneously.

As noted above the process of healing can be influenced by a variety of factors including infections, nutritional and immune deficiencies, age, chemicals, toxic metals, heat, coldness or organ failure. And that is just at the physical level.

Influences at the level of the soul, consisting of the intellect, the will and the emotions, may also influence healing, suggesting an interrelationship between these two levels of the body’s design.

Lastly, there is the influence of the spirit, not conventionally included as being important in the healing process, when, in fact, it may be one of the key elements in this process.

Since we are spirit, soul and body, true healing can only take place with harmony at all three levels of organization. I will expand on this topic with a discussion the complexity of the human living system in a future journal entry.

Our discussion will deal with the physical level first. We will show how computer generated electromagnetic signals alter skin resistance and how these electromagnetic altering signals initiate the healing process and sequentially track the healing process until it is completed. It is a wonderfully organized and integrated process.

Scientific discovery yields information that varies with the model that is being used. A model is a representation of “reality” based on tools and observations used in conducting such a study.

A surgeon, studying wound healing, may use a model based on wound closure with sutures, clips or bandages.

A forensic pathologist may use a model based on the kind of wound, whether it is a laceration, a puncture wound by a knife or bullet.

A microbiologist could use a model based on infectious processes that may affect wound healing.

A molecular biologist may want to use a biophysical or biochemical model to determine the sequence of events taking place during the wound healing process.

Our model is a biophysical model in which we compare information that is radiating through a biological system with information stored in a computer system. As an example, detection of an electromagnetic signal representing a bacterium in a skin wound would be useful in establishing an association with a wound infection.

There are two models for electrodermal detection (see my posting: “Treatment Priorities in Electrodermal Testing”).

In the first model, all of the signals stored in the computer are compared with all of the abnormal signals in the biological system.

This model is a general search for abnormal signals

Is not specific for detecting the sites of abnormal signals

It cannot be used to construct an electromagnetic profile for a clinical condition

Does not lend itself to be used in detailed sequential analysis

Disregards priorities set by the biological system

Your body is aware of sites of injury. Just hit your finger with a hammer and it will not take you very long to discover the priority your body has set for pain in the nail you just injured.

The electrodermal system will detect abnormal signals at sites of injury as well.

The second model focuses on biological specificity.

It is the method we have chosen

It is a more targeted method of analysis, one based on the sequential analysis of specific sites over time

This model is an iterative or a repetitive analysis at the same site

It is directed at altering abnormal signals until they can no longer be detected

The relationship between electromagnetic profiles and medical profiles (diagnosis) can be made easily

For example, you can identify the signals that are associated with rheumatoid arthritis or cancer or many other conditions and you can observe the electromagnetic changes that take place during the healing process

Changes can be tabulated for statistical review

Both of these models are electromagnetic in character. For practical purposes we can disregard the magnetic aspect of the signal and concentrate our discussion on its electrical characteristics only. In order to do this, an understanding of the role of physics in biology is necessary. This will be the subject of our next journal entry.

Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Procedures, Henretig, F, King, C (Eds), Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore 1997. p.1141.

Midwood K.S., Williams L.V., and Schwarzbauer J.E. 2004. Tissue repair and the dynamics of the extracellular matrix. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 36(6): 1031-1037.

Stadelmann W.K., Digenis A.G. and Tobin G.R. 1998. Physiology and healing dynamics of chronic cutaneous wounds. The American Journal of Surgery, 176(2) 26S-38S.

Vincent J. Speckhart MD