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The Cayce Impedance Device: A Gift on the Doorstep
The Edgar Cayce readings repeatedly recommended a device that was supposed to be good for everyone's health--but it has been used by relatively few people. Until now, no one knew exactly what it did to the body. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discouraged its sale and distribution because no scientific evidence of its benefits had been demonstrated.
The readings referred to it by several names: the radial-active appliance; the radial machine; the dry cell; the impedance device; and the radio-active appliance, which was the name most frequently used. But this last name led to some confusion after 1945 when the explosion of the first atomic bombs gave the term radioactivity an ominous connotation. Since the Cayce device had nothing to do with that kind of radioactivity, the Edgar Cayce Foundation suggested that a preferable name was the impedance device.
The impedance device was frequently recommended in the readings for health maintenance and prevention of disease. It was said to be "good for anyone!" (826-3) "The vibrations from same are well for every human individual." (1800-15) Specifically, it was recommended for nervous tension and incoordination in 61 readings; circulatory incoordination (52); circulation (41); insomnia (35); neurasthenia (22); debilitation (16); hypertension (13); abnormal children (12); deafness (11); obesity (11); arthritis (11); and other conditions (170).
The readings suggest that it offers the advantage of correcting possible imbalances, equilibrating body energies, and attuning the vibrations of the body to an optimal state. It is said to stimulate the body and mind to better organize and integrate their functioning. It might improve memory and such other mental functions as clarification of purpose. It might also produce an altered state of consciousness similar to those achieved in meditation and creative visualization.
Specifically, the readings indicated that the following beneficial physiological effects might be expected from using the device:
* Normalization of blood pressure.This list is based on only a superficial review of the medical readings, and a more comprehensive examination might expand the list of anticipated benefits. The extent of the effects would depend on the degree of the person's abnormal condition. If, for example, a person's blood pressure was very high, the device's effect would probably be greater than with a person having almost normal blood pressure.
* Normalization of heart pulse rate.
* Improvement in peripheral blood circulation.
* Reduction in blood impurities.
* Normalization of iron content in the blood.
* Normalization of electrolytes.
* Normalization of kidney functions.
* Normalization of oxygen content in blood.
* Increase in blood coagulation.
* Reduction in stress.
* Improved sensory perception.
The attitude of the user of the device is said to be a key factor in the results. A positive mental attitude, such as that associated with hope, faith, meditation, and prayer, was recommended. The readings warned against using it when one is in a negative mental or emotional state.
But what exactly is the impedance device?
It looks much like a battery, because it has two terminals--one terminal connected by a copper wire to a copper (positive) electrode, and the other terminal to a nickel (negative) electrode. The electrodes attach to the body--one to the wrist of one arm, the other to the ankle of the opposite side. But it is not a battery. It contains no electrical energy of its own, as a charged battery does. Instead, when attached as recommended, it utilizes the body's own electrical currents.
Its electrical design appears to be that of a capacitor surrounded by a resistance. It is made of a rectangular copper container that holds two parallel carbon steel plates separated by two panes of glass, and surrounded by blocks of carbon and powdered charcoal. Its design creates a capacitor which theoretically modulates the current flowing from one part of the body to another. It puzzles convention biomedical engineers because it would appear incapable of producing any physiological effect, since the body's electrical current would seem too weak to bridge the capacitor. But biomedical engineers familiar with the principles of acupuncture theorize that it serves to modulate the flow of body energy in some manner.
The readings describe the device as effecting a change in the electrical energies of the body. But just how it works remains a matter of conjecture. Stanford University physicist William Tiller theorizes that it balances the energy flow in the body through the acupuncture meridians known to Chinese medicine for perhaps 5,000 years. Professor Tiller speculates that the device may set up a gentle oscillating energy flow through the meridians, causing electric current to flow out of some acupuncture points and into others, at levels probably below one millionth of an ampere of current. Dr. William A. McGarey, director of the A.R.E. Clinic, who uses acupuncture in his medical practice, agrees with Tiller's speculation.
Other theories involve hypotheses of subtle energies related to radionics or orgone, which are not presently detectable by electromagnetic means. Although some of these theories are interesting, they are not currently testable. Scientific investigation of the device must utilize accepted physiological measurements and some newly developed electrical measurements of acupuncture meridians.
In an effort to determine the precise effects of the device, the Fetzer Energy Medicine Research Institute (FEMRI), which is the research arm of the A.R.E. Clinic, launched a pilot study in 1987 which included the first scientific double-blind experiment to ascertain what happens when a person uses the device. The pilot study first included an electronic analysis of devices submitted by two manufacturers, followed by an experimental study of the physical effect on individuals. While not conclusive due to the small number of test subjects, the study did indicate that the device had a measurable effect on the human neuroendocrine system.
Ten healthy volunteers were used in the pilot study; five were randomly assigned to the experimental group, and five were randomly assigned to the control group. All 10 persons received four 30-minute treatments on four consecutive days. The experimental group was treated with real devices, and the control group was treated with devices that looked and weighed exactly the same as the real devices, yet contained none of the elements of the real devices. These experimental and control devices were used in order to rule out a possible placebo effect, which might be due to a person's positive expectations of treatment.
Neither the volunteers nor the medical staff knew which volunteers had been treated by experimental or control devices. Only the research director knew the code used to mark the bottoms of the devices, thereby fulfilling double-blind conditions. One of the volunteers in the control group dropped out of the study, due to difficulty in maintaining the requirement of fasting prior to testing. This left four persons in the control group.
Baseline values of blood and urine biochemistry were established on the first day before the start of treatment, and on the fourth day blood and urine samples were taken again. The study was based on a before-and-after treatment comparison of blood and urine biochemistry. To reduce extraneous variables which might affect test results, volunteers were asked to refrain from tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine on test days, and also to fast for at least six hours prior to testing.
To follow Cayce-recommended procedure, volunteers were asked to relax in a reclining position on a bed and encouraged to pray, meditate, and/or rest quietly during the 30-minute period of treatment. The devices were placed in direct sunlight for almost an hour prior to placement in waxed paper buckets of ice water, where they were chilled for 30 minutes.
The positive (red) electrode was attached to the body about three minutes prior to the attachment of the negative (black) electrode. This practice was followed each of the four days, in accord with the sequence for electrode placement on opposite wrists and ankles as recommended by the Cayce readings. The same device was always attached to the same person.
The biochemical data samples included a complete blood count, catecholamine and chem-zyme evaluation of 30 cc. of blood serum, and a urinalysis of 10 cc. of urine, collected before and after treatment. Specific data included 59 factors, 55 of which consisted of routine medical tests which can be considered rather insensitive indicators of change, and four indicators of catecholamine levels which can be considered as more sensitive indicators of change. These factors provided a wide range for testing physiological response to a minimal level of treatment.
SmithKline Bio-Science Labs performed an independent biochemical analysis of the blood and urine samples. A gross statistical analysis, based an group means, was conducted with SPSS-X computer software. With the small number of human subjects, group mean methodology could detect only relatively strong physiological effects. This approach suited a pilot study with a limited budget. If no physiological change was detected in the pilot study, then further study of the Cayce impedance device would require greater strength of treatment, as determined by a greater number of treatments over a longer period of time.
What the pilot study data showed was a possible significant increase in the level of serum dopamine in the experimental group, as compared to the control group. (This finding was based on a single-tailed T test with the critical value at the .10 significance level.)
Dopamine is involved in the control of fine motor function and circulation in the body. It is one of the neurotransmitters called catecholamines, which are the body's chemicals mainly involved in the stress response, or "fight or flight" response to a perceived threat. Neurotransmitters consist of molecules which regulate the electrical activity of nerves. Neurotransmitters can stimulate or inhibit the electrical firing of nerve cells.
Dopamine is considered the first catecholamine created from the metabolism of essential amino acids, and is associated with relaxation. As metabolism continues, dopamine is converted to norepinephrine and then to epinephrine, which are associated with stress reactions such as an increase in blood pressure.
An increase in the amount of dopamine in the bloodstream, resulting from treatment by the Cayce impedance device, will be associated with relaxation, and may be evidence of greater coordination of the circulatory system. These findings support those hypotheses derived from the Cayce readings which relate to stress reduction and normalization of blood circulation. Based on this tentative finding, we can speculate that the device would benefit persons with decreased function in motor control and blood circulation.
The statistical analysis of the pilot study offers a promising suggestion, if not conclusive evidence, that the Cayce impedance device actually performs as the Cayce readings suggest. More definitive study of the device is needed.
FEMRI has designed a one-year study and is now awaiting funding of $97,000 to implement the study. The proposed study will compare the effects of the impedance device and sham control devices on 40 healthy volunteers, between 20 and 50 years of age, with no history of cardiovascular, respiratory, or neurological problems. Each person will be assigned randomly to experimental or control groups, which will each include 20 persons. A double-blind protocol will be followed, in which treatment will be administered under laboratory conditions at the FEMRI lab. Each person will visit the lab for treatment at the same time of day, four days a week, for three consecutive weeks, thereby receiving a total of 12 treatments in three electrode rotation cycles. Thus, a greater amount of treatment will be likely to produce stronger effects.
Those 40 subjects will be tested for a number of physiological indicators before, during, and after treatment. A comparison of scores between experimental and control groups will provide evidence for statistically significant findings.
Data will include blood tests and urinalyses, as was done for the pilot study, plus daily physiological monitoring of brainwaves, heartbeat, respiration, and peripheral blood flow. Acupuncture meridian data will be collected with a special instrument developed by FEMRI. In total, close to 100 physiological indicators will be measured for each person. In addition, a brief psychological questionnaire will be administered before and after treatment, identifying a person's perceptions about his health and symptomatology.
As the Cayce readings recommended more than 50 years ago, the impedance device needs to be scientifically tested before it can truly be made available to the public for health care. Like a gift left unclaimed on the doorstep, the device would become a resource for health maintenance as a body energy balancer and stress reducer, if it is properly researched first. Furthermore, the device could also be used to treat persons with decreased function in motor control and blood circulation. However, further study, involving larger numbers of people and physiological parameters, is needed for substantive research findings.
The above article was taken from the May/June, 1989, issue of Venture Inward and has been used by permission.
Harvey Grady is Director of Research Programs at the A.R.E. Clinic.
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