RESULTS
OF RESEARCH ON THE ELECTRIC FIELD GENERATED BY THE HUMAN ORGANISM
Marcus
Bongart
Hunger
for Knowledge
From the very beginning of my involvement in Traditional Chinese
Medicine I have been striving to understand the nature of phenomena
occurring during acupuncture and Qigong exercises and treatment. These
phenomena are inseparable from the concept of Qi energy. However, the
question remained whether Qi is a philosophical notion adopted by
Oriental philosophers in order to explain natural phenomena which they
had been unable to understand, or a description of real, albeit unknown,
energetic processes occurring in cells, organs and whole organisms.
Observations of numerous functions of living organisms, as well as
records of clinical experience gathered in the course of many centuries
by Oriental doctors, have led me towards the latter concept. The longer
I considered questions posed by Oriental medicine, the harder it was for
me to accept Qi energy theory as a philosophical dogma.
My own clinical experience and personal convictions not only attracted
criticism from my medical colleagues, but also aroused other
controversies and were often ridiculed as irrelevant. An overwhelming
desire to deepen my knowledge, document my experience and impressions
and attempt an explanation of healing phenomena created a stimulus to
undertake research and provide adequate scientific proof.
The initial goal of research was to test whether it might be possible to
register Qi energy generated by living organisms. I was aware of the
difficulties and, fascinated by theories of Professor W. Sedlak and,
particularly, by the concept of the fifth state of the matter which he
defined as bioplasma and its electromagnetic structure, I was
desperately seeking experts on the issue.
According to the current state of our knowledge, the human organism
generates physical fields and radiation of various types, some of which
are already well researched and used for medical purposes. A good
example is magnetic cardiography (MCG), or measurement of the magnetic
field of the heart. Tomography, or measurement of infrared radiation, is
used in the diagnosis of tumours. Other types of energy emitted by
living organisms, such as extremely weak photon emission, infrared
sounds or electric field still require further research. Qi energy,
which is a mysterious, universal force regulating living processes,
cannot be considered as a simple equivalent of the magnetic field,
infrared emission or some other well known physical phenomena. This can
often be proved by simple experiments.
However, many years of observation on the process of Qi energy transfer
between a therapist and a patient, also taking into account the
environment where treatments are conducted, allow for speculation that
the information might be transferred by the electric field. To a certain
extent, this hypothesis was confirmed by Professor W. Sedlak’s work.
Historical Background
In 1986 one of my students introduced me, coincidentally, to Professor
E. Ziobro of the Technical University of Wroclaw, Poland. Despite two
years of failed attempts I still hoped that some day I would be able to
conduct efficient measurement of the field generated by the human
organism. I continued to look for other researchers in this area and
finally contacted Dr Jan Szymanski.
Following a long period of intensive discussions, Jan A. Szymanski,
Zbigniew Garnuszewski and I commenced joint research work in 1988 in
Vellinge, Sweden. Our aim was to establish research procedures and
construct electronic measurement instruments which could be used for
medical diagnosis.
Jan A. Szymanski had been working in this area since 1977, long before
our joint work began. He wrote a Doctor’s thesis at the Agricultural
Academy in Cracow, Poland in 1987, receiving title of the Doctor of
Natural Sciences.
We have continued joint research in a laboratory in Vellinge since1988,
and from 1989 some of the experiments were carried out in Warsaw, under
personal supervision of Professor Zbigniew Garnuszewski, until his death
in 1997.
The idea of measuring the electric field is not a pioneering concept.
Results of research on the electric field of animals and human beings
have been published in a number of countries in the last fifty years.
Also, a number of patents have been approved for apparatus used for such
research. However, these devices were difficult to use and failed to
provide exact measurements. They were therefore unsuitable and
unreliable as treatment tools for practical application .
On the other hand, contact measurements of electrical activity of
internal organs such as the heart, muscles and brain have been used in
medicine for almost a hundred years. They encompass electrocardiography
(ECG), electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG). All of
these procedures involve the use of electrodes applied to the skin
surface or needle electrodes introduced into the body. Such measuring
devices can register very low voltage generated during the flow of ionic
and electron currents in the body.
In 1947, Lorente de No made a breakthrough in research on electric
fields by discovering alternating electric field around a stimulated
nerve. Russian researchers (Gulayev et al., 1968 ), using improved
measurement techniques, were able to register the electric field
generated by nerves and muscles from the considerable distance of 25 cm
from the body. American researchers (Richardson and Keefe, 1968) also
registered alternating electric field, generated by the working heart.
However, the research of that time failed to provide convincing and
repeatable results. From the modern perspective, it was a period of
solving methodical and technical problems. Electronic equipment of that
time was not sufficiently precise to provide measurement of the subtle
electric field generated by the living organism, which is indeed weak:
the field generated by the human heart, measured at 5 cm from the body,
is some hundred times weaker than outside electric interference,
generated mostly by the electricity supply network of 220 V, 50 Hz.
Therefore, the research has to be conducted in shielded areas, so-called
Faraday cages, and requires special measurement techniques.
In 1970, Russian researcher E. Kulin discovered that living organisms
generate another type of electricity, which is static or semi-static and
results from natural electric polarisation of tissues. Living organisms
consist of orderly structures such as cell membranes, collagen
membranes, muscle cells and bones. Their molecular electric charges
build up and generate areas on the surface of the skin, with potentials
ranging from - 10 to + 10 V. Gradual fluctuation of such potentials in
time and resulting changes in the electrostatic field are due to
metabolic changes in tissues and also to piezoelectric and pyroelectric
phenomena. Being generated by so-called tied charges, which are
non-movable and may be discovered and measured only through
investigation of the electric field with which they surround themselves,
they are not measurable by contact methods. Living organisms are not
static and are subject to constant change; the electrostatic field
varying with different parts of the body and for each individual over
time. For this reason it was called the semi static electric field. Its
variance provides information which may prove to be of immense
importance for medical diagnostics and for the development of new
methods of therapy.
In Wroclaw, from 1983 – 1987, Doctor Szymanski conducted research on the
alternating electric field and semi-static electric field generated by
Polish bioenergy therapists. The research was continued in The Qigong
Center, Vellinge, Sweden and in The Acupuncture Centre in Warsaw by Dr
Szymanski, Professor Garnuszewski and myself, measuring the field of
Qigong patients, students and masters. At present the research is
carried on in The CesamQ Centre in Malmo, under the supervision of
Doctor Szymanski.
Acupuncture and Medical Qigong Under Scientific Investigation
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture regulates Qi flow
in the body. Qi energy is present in the whole body and, condensed,
circulates through a system of meridians, linking the inside of the
organism with the environment through acupuncture points.
In contrast to European bioenergy therapies and other healing methods,
Qigong does not promote the spontaneous generation of some kind of
general healing energy. The complex medical system founded on Qigong
knowledge is based on the ability of Qigong Masters to generate
different types of Qi energy and control it according to therapeutic
requirements. Depending on the specific needs of each patient, the
Qigong master will select groups of exercises designed to stimulate
energy movement in individual meridians
Such were the main assumptions of our research.
Measuring apparatus
The prototype measuring instrument we have built permits the remote
reception and registration of electric field generated by the human
organism. The signals are received by an antenna, placed some
centimetres away from skin, and are then amplified by electronic
circuits.
Picture
1
shows block diagram of the instrument.
Picture
1
Challenges
Research in this field presents a number of difficulties, the first of
which is the very object of the investigation. The varying shape of the
human body, muscular tremor, sweat and hair create considerable
obstacles in the measuring process. Another challenge proved to be the
construction of the Faraday cage, necessary to reduce outside
interference to a minimum.
The third problem is the constant need to perfect measuring instruments.
The fourth, correct analysis of the results and the fifth, last but not
least, is the ongoing lack of funding.
Results of the Research
Some of the results have been published in reports presented at
international scientific conferences in Bejing in 1989, 1990, 1992,
1994, 1996 and 1998, in Warsaw, Rome and Oslo in 1994, in Falsterbo in
1996 and in Poznan in 1998.
Some of the results of our research are presented below:
Picture
2
shows an example of a record of the alternating electric field of the
human heart and, for comparison, a record of contact ECG.
Picture
2
Picture
3
shows records of the electric field of the hands of Qigong Masters
Marcus Bongart and Wan Su Jian.
Picture
3
Results of measurements of the static electric field of the human
organism are given in electric potential measurement units, or Volts (V)
as registered on the surface of skin. The measurement is, naturally,
conducted in a non-contact way, with an antenna located at 5 cm from the
skin. Results of a large number of measurements (more than twenty) may
be presented digitally or graphically, by depicting the shape of the
static electric field around the silhouette of a human body. The results
of several people undergoing such examination were subject to detailed
statistical analysis, which indicated how different people show
significant individual differences. However, there were only minor
differences noted in the same individual over a period of several days.
The above results support the concept a static electric field specific
to each individual human being, which would enable identification of a
person.
Picture
4
shows examples of the static electric field surrounding a number of
people.
Picture
4
Professor Zbigniew Garnuszewski, of The Centre of Acupuncture in Warsaw,
contributed to the research for many years by measuring the static
electric field of acupuncture patients before and after treatment. His
results, which showed considerable differences of the field in various
parts of the body, were presented at a number of acupuncture congresses.
Picture
5
shows lines of
the static electric field in a man’s hand before and after acupuncture
treatment. The differences can be clearly seen.
Picture 5
Summary
of the Results
Conclusion
Our research has confirmed the original assumptions and hypotheses. The
electric field generated by the human organism reaches far beyond the
physical shape of his body. Part of the field is generated by the
activity of the muscles and the heart. An alternating electric field of
specific character is created by hand and body movements which generate
and maintain their own semi electrostatic charges. The research on
alternating electric fields generated by people performing Medical
Qigong exercises confirmed that different people in a similar
experimental environment generate similar signals. For example, in 1996
we provided research results on three characteristic types of the
electric field accompanying three different kinds of energy generated by
Marcus Bongart and Wan Su Jian. Records of the so-called Qi (-) show a
prevailing series of long pulses, while Qi (+) generates a shorter
series of pulses of higher amplitude and shorter growth and decline
span. Apart from these two clearly identifiable Qi types, both Masters
were able to generate so-called non-diversified Qi, or a very long
series of multiphase pulses of average amplitude.
In 1998 a series of experiments was conducted which proved that the
electric field accompanying generation of Qi to meridians pertaining to
various organs (the heart, lungs and kidneys) also differs for each
particular kind of emission. Such signals of the electric field,
carrying information directly to the patient’s organ, proved to be
surprisingly strong. The intensity of the electric fields often reaches
20V/m. At present we are conducting detailed research in this area.
We have also examined twenty people who took part in Qigong instructor
training during the same year. Statistical results of the investigation
proved that the ability to generate alternating electric field with
hands increases after completing each stage of training and the strength
and frequency of measured signals shows increasing individual
differences. The measurements of the electric field presented by our
team are the first attempt to identify information carried by the
so-called Qi energy or bioenergy.
At this stage of research we are not able to reach a final conclusion as
to whether the electric fields we measured are identical to Qi energy,
or they just accompany Qi. In our opinion, closer investigation of the
messages carried by the electric field might lead to establishing new
diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.
