Prognos (R) in the diagnosis of amalgam hypersensitivity - A diagnostic case-control study

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether the Prognos (R) device might be a useful tool in the diagnosis of disorders suspected to be due to dental amalgam fillings. Participants and Methods: A diagnostic case-control study was performed in 27 patients who complained about health problems attributed to amalgam ( cases), 27 healthy volunteers with amalgam fillings ( controls I), and 27 healthy amalgam-free volunteers ( controls II). All participants were tested before and after application of 300 mg DMPS (2.3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid) with Prognos, a diagnostic device for the energetic measurement of Traditional Chinese Medicine meridians. In addition, mercury was measured in blood, urine, and saliva, and a lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) was performed. Results: Diagnoses derived from the first and second Prognos testing did not agree above chance (Cohen's Kappa = -0.11, 95% confidence interval -0.33 to 0.10; p = 0.30). Agreement for secondary outcome measures was poor, too. Prognos measurements did not differ between cases and controls. Correlations with measurements in urine, blood and saliva were low. Conclusion: In this study Prognos could not be shown to be a useful tool in the diagnosis of disorders suspected to be due to dental amalgam fillings

Skin Impedance Measurements for Acupuncture Research: Development of a Continuous Recording System

Skin impedance at acupuncture points (APs) has been used as a diagnostic/therapeutic aid for more than 50 years. Currently, researchers are evaluating the electrophysiologic properties of APs as a possible means of understanding acupuncture's mechanism. To comprehensively assess the diagnostic, therapeutic and mechanistic implications of acupuncture point skin impedance, a device capable of reliably recording impedances from 100 kΩ to 50 MΩ at multiple APs over extended time periods is needed. This article describes design considerations, development and testing of a single channel skin impedance system (hardware, control software and customized electrodes). The system was tested for accuracy against known resistors and capacitors. Two electrodes (the AMI and the ORI) were compared for reliability of recording over 30 min. Two APs (LU 9 and PC 6) and a nearby non-AP site were measured simultaneously in four individuals for 60 min. Our measurement system performed accurately (within 5%) against known resistors (580 kΩ–10 MΩ) and capacitors (10 nF–150 nF). Both the AMI electrode and the modified ORI electrode recorded skin impedance reliably on the volar surface of the forearm (r = 0.87 and r = 0.79, respectively). In four of four volunteers tested, skin impedance at LU 9 was less than at the nearby non-AP site. In three of four volunteers skin impedance was less at PC 6 than at the nearby non-AP site. We conclude that our system is a suitable device upon which we can develop a fully automated multi-channel device capable of recording skin impedance at multiple APs simultaneously over 24 h

Genetic algorithm based heuristic measure for pattern similarity in kirlian photographs

This paper presents the use of a genetic algorithm based heuristic measure for quantifying perceptable, similarity of visual patterns by the example of Kirlian photographs. Measuring similarity of such patterns can be considered a trade-off between quantifying strong similarity for some parts of the pattern, and the neglection of the accidental abscense of other pattern parts as well. For this reason, the use of a dynamic measure instead of a static one is motivated. Due to their well-known schemata processing abilities, genetic algorithm seem to be a good choice for "performing" such a measurement. The results obtained from a real set of Kirlian images shows that the ranking of the proposed heuristic measure is able to reflect the apparent visual similarity ranking of Kirlian patterns

Kirlian-fotografie: Zufälliges oder personenspezifisches Entladungsmuster?

Objective: Is the corona electrography of Kirlian photography an accidental pattern or an individual specific discharge pattern? Patients: 30 patients of the Stauferklinik Schwabisch Gmund, suffering from a great variety of diseases. Study De- sign: At intervals of 10-15 min 10 Kirlian photos each of all fingers and toes were taken from each patient. Out of this material, from 8 patients 4 Kirlian photos each with evident similarity of the discharge radiographs of 3 fingers were selected. These images were scanned for mathematical procedures, and heuristic measurements of the histograms were evaluated by a genetic algorithm. Results: Three pattern groups showed different heuristic measurements: accidental pattern 0.28±0.01, Kirlian pattern in general 0.3±0.02, and Kirlian pattern of the same person 0.44±0.05. Conclusions: The mathematical objectivation of the Kirlian photographs confirm the visual impression of strong similarity. Because of the lack of anatomical irregu larities and since, due to new positioning, physical and chemical surface characteristics were changed in the single Kirlian photographs, the identification of the basic pattern stresses the existence of an individual discharge pattern and thus of an individual electromagnetic field