Description
To the Reader
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the level of electromagnetic fields (EMF) of natural and man-made origin continuously increases. While the natural physical factors remain relatively stable, man-made EMFs increase and affect life on this planet.
The guiding principle in selecting the topics and authors for this book was to present the contemporary state-of-the-art use of EMF in clinical practice for resolving problems that conventional medical practice cannot successfully treat. More importantly, this book offers a biophysical approach to the discussed problems.
It was my idea to make this book a tribute to William Ross Adey in recognition of his historical achievements in and contributions to bioelectromagnetics. For that reason, the first chapter discusses one of the fundamental ideas of Ross Adey—biological windows. Fortunately, Carl Blackman, in Chapter 2, gives a historical overview of the experimental work performed in the laboratory of Ross Adey and by a number of other researchers.
I attempted to arrange the table of contents in a systematic way—starting from EMFs’ benefits and hazards to their potential to accelerate healing of tendon injuries in humans and animals.
Arthur Pilla, in Chapter 4, guides readers in the pulsed EMF development from signaling to healing, and Dr. Igor Belyaev discusses the biophysical mechanisms for nonthermal microwave effects in Chapter 5.
There are two chapters on engineering. I would like to emphasize the chapter by Jim Seal on step-by-step signal design (Chapter 7) is a good approach to understanding the principles of signal and device engineering starting from level zero to completion of the process, approval of the device, and acquiring leads to international agencies.
Chapters 8 through 10 are biological, reporting the research on EMF effects on microcirculation and immune and anti-inflammatory responses. This includes chapters by Ohkubo and Okano from Japan, Gapaev from Russia, and Balcavage et al. from the United States, respectively. It is clear from these chapters how broad the interest of the world scientific community is on the effects of EMF. They also present clarifications on the mechanisms of achieving potential health benefits.
Chapters 11 through 13 are biophysical, addressing the effects of EMF and infrasound range vibrations on cell hydrations in various tissues as well as applying computational fluid dynamics methods for studying EMF effects in model systems.
The medical part of the book (Chapters 16 through 18) covers various applications of EMF, conducted in different clinical studies all over the world. Starting with the traditional use in wound healing and cartilage/bone repair and continuing with the use of EMF for pain control and inhabitation of cancer growth, patients’ preference has shifted to EMF application in plastic surgery………………………..