Introduction to Biophysical Medicine

The study of the effects of electromagnetic waves on the

human body has been growing in importance and scientific

value over recent years. The main reasons for renewed interest

in the interactions between electromagnetic waves and

living organisms can be traced to two types of factors:

a) proof of the effectiveness of very low frequency pulsed

magnetic fields (extreme-low frequency, ELF) in orthopaedic

therapies and in the field of aesthetic dermatology has been

steadily accumulating;

b) the topic is increasingly discussed in connection with studies

on cellular and molecular models, and particular interest

is developing for the study and analysis of the interaction of

cells with electromagnetic waves. When speaking of interaction,

we find ourselves dealing with two quite different worlds,

both highly complex and with their own physical, chemical

and dynamic laws. On the one hand, there is matter, which is

measurable and tangible (atoms, molecules, organs, drugs,

and so forth), and on the other, there is its dualistic aspect,

or oscillatory electromagnetic spectrum. The medical world

should open itself to information that can, first and foremost,

provide a reliable tool for patients, and much more. Knowing

how and why electromagnetic fields interact with living matter

is the first step for a choice of therapeutic and curative processes

with effective and sure results.

Biopotentials and the electrical activity of cells

All living organisms irradiate an electromagnetic field of very

low intensity (EEMF). This electromagnetic field is the product

of biological processes. The electrical activities of cells

can be recorded through examinations such as EEGs and

electromyographies, etc. The recorded biological signal is

the trace of a signal that traverses the tissues, an action potential.

This underlies the phenomenon of cellular excitability,

particularly that of nerve and muscle cells, which use it to

send messages and respond to them. It is therefore vital that

an electrochemical balance is maintained within and outside

of the cell, associated with the distribution of charges between

the two sides of the cell membrane. This balance is

physiologically piloted by the sodium-potassium pump, a

mechanism that ferries ionic charges in the opposite direction

to their electrochemical gradient. This mechanism is of

basic importance for the cell’s energy potential, its nutrition,

its detoxification and, not least, its capacity to communicate

with the extracellular matrix.

Exposure to a range of low-intensity, low-frequency

electromagnetic waves, such as the Medithera biophysical

wave, causes a change in membrane polarisation without

affecting the ionic flow equilibrium in conditions of rest, with

recharging of potentials as the resulting effect.

The physical-electromagnetic mechanism that the Medithera

device uses is based on the irradiation of low-intensity,

low-frequency fields, which, when modulated in terms of energy,

and therefore intensity, enter into resonance with cell

structures, triggering cascading reactions. The electromagnetic

wave that flows through the organism is a disturbance

that “mimics”reality. In fact, to describe the profile of the

electromagnetic waves used (which are no greater than 37

μT in intensity), if an EEG spectrum is superimposed on the

Medithera biophysical wave signal, it can be seen how the

frequency profile matches the physiological profile for the

electrical activity of the nerve cells. The effect of Biophysical

Therapy is stimulation of H+ ions in order to restore the following

functions:

• METABOLIC BALANCE: restoration of transmembrane potentials

with electrochemical equilibrium of the sodium potassium

pumps

• ION STIMULATION: cascades of intracellular reactions

are triggered, including the stimulation of calcium ions and

their stabilisation. Through the stimulation of calcium, these

charged ions are transported through the intercellular liquid

towards the cells that need it and the excess is eliminated.

• CIRCULATION AND TISSUE OXYGENATION: an important

effect of electromagnetic fields is the induction of NO.

With the development of new technologies, the role of electromagnetic

fields, within which we live and without which

many of our physiological functions would be compromised,

is becoming increasingly important. Biophysical Therapy

plays a significant role here in the restoration of cellular

equilibrium, preserving the safety of the organism in a noninvasive

approach. We should be aware that although the

body is also regulated by chemistry, physics and hydraulics,

the ion exchanges, the transmembrane movements of protein

complexes, and more generally, the cellular interaction

with the energy in which we live are exchanges of electrical

and magnetic energy. The body is a complicated, complex

machine, perfect in its combination of the various languages

of matter.

M. Maggi Medical Engineer