Electricity has long been thought to be an elemental life-force. Experiments by Luigi Galvani in the eighteenth century showed that touching an electrically charged scalpel to an exposed nerve in the leg from a dead frog would cause the leg to kick as if the frog were still alive. While electricity is responsible for the transmission of signals along nerves, fraudulent practioners have relied on the belief of uninformed patients that the presence of electricity and conductors will have a dramatic, disease-curing effect on living tissue. Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Luigi Galvani - Italian physician famous for making frogs legs twitch. ... Nerves (yellow) Nerves redirects here. ... Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757 Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe questionable medical practices. ...

Such a belief has been reflected in popular culture for a long time; the 1931 film Frankenstein, for example, depicted Dr. Frankenstein's patchwork monster being brought to life by electricity. // Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff Ingagi, starring Sir Hubert Winstead Mata Hari, starring Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore City Lights starring Charles Chaplin Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ... Frankenstein is a 1931 science fiction film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. ...

The plausibility of electrical cures was enhanced by the fact that electrical machinery was being put into practical use in medicine at the time. Electrocautery machines proved much more effective than hot irons and other primitive cauterization tools, for example. The 20th century saw development of many other genuine medical electronic instruments. medicines, see Medication. ... Hot cauters were applied to tissues or arteries to stop them from bleeding. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Electrical devices with claimed therapeutic effects

Perkins patent tractors

In 1795, an American doctor from Connecticut named Elisha Perkins developed the Perkins Patent Tractors — a pair of rods, one made of iron and one made of brass, that purportedly drew out disease and pain by passing them over one's body. The Connecticut Medical Society loudly condemned the tractors as "delusive quackery". Despite the device's failure to meet the conventional medical standards of the time, the tractors proved popular, and even George Washington bought a set. Perkins died of yellow fever in 1799 and his son, Benjamin Perkins, amassed a fortune with the tractors, as well as with more conventional business ventures, before he died in 1810. 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Largest metro area Hartford Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,543[2] sq mi (14,356 km²)  - Width 70 miles (113 km)  - Length 110 miles (177 km)  - % water 12. ... Elisha Perkins (1741-1799) was a US physician who created his own magnetic therapy, Perkins Tractors. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The practice of "tractoration," as it was known, did not live much longer than Benjamin Perkins. Attempts to use tractors in veterinary medicine failed. Two medical practitioners named Hygarth and Falconer administered the lethal blow to the practice by building duplicates made out of wood that proved every bit as effective.

Electric belts and corsets

The Perkins tractors were only faintly electrical in nature, but they led to further interesting medical technologies, such as electric belts and corsets, which incorporated batteries and were marketed as being able to cure a wide range of ills. They were used through the 19th century and into the 20th. As late as 1927 a California man named Gaylord Wilshire was using an AC-powered belt named the I-ON-A-CO. Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Electronic reactions of Abrams

Main article: Albert Abrams

In the years from World War I to 1924, the confidence trickster and fraud Albert Abrams promoted "ERA", which stood for Electronic Reactions of Abrams. His theory was that electrons were the basic element of all life, and that he could diagnose, and later cure, diseases by analysis of blood. His work was debunked in 1923 and 1924, and after his death his machines were found to consist of nothing more than wires connected to lights and buzzers. (See also: Oberon and Radionics). Albert Abrams (1863–1924) was adoctor in San Francisco, whose tool for gaining variety of electricity therapy he called ERA, or Electronic Reactions of Abrams. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Albert Abrams (1863–1924) was adoctor in San Francisco, whose tool for gaining variety of electricity therapy he called ERA, or Electronic Reactions of Abrams. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Oberon or Оберон is a nonlinear computer diagnostics device invented by Russian researchers from the Hospital of Senior Department of Public Health Services of Administration of Omsk Region, led by Vladimir Igorevich Nesterov. ... Radionics is a body of ideas and practice concerning medical diagnosis and healing, originating in the early 1900s. ...

E-meter

Main article: E-meter

The E-meter (short for electropsychometer) is a device used in conseling within the Church of Scientology and related organizations like Narconon [1] as well as in Scientology splinter groups like the Freezone. Over the years, Hubbard and the Church have claimed E-meter of being capable of various things, including various sorts of mental and physical healing. After settling with the FDA over a suit they brought in 1963 [2], the Church changed their policy and no longer makes any claims for the E-meter directly, but rather the auditing process itself, which simply employs the E-meter as a tool, like a medical doctor using a thermometer. Mark Super VII Quantum E-meter An E-Meter is a battery-powered electronic device manufactured by the Church of Scientologys Gold Base. ... Scientology cross Symbol Doctrine Practices Concepts People Public groups Organization Controversy The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. ... Narconon is not associated with Narcotics Anonymous, which is sometimes abbreviated Narcanon. Scientologys Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

However, a legitimite claim that the Church of Scientology still engages in "electrical quackery" could still be made today. While the Church no longer claims that the E-meter itself has healing powers, they still claim that the E-meter is capable of powers which have not been, and according to the current science cannot be, proven. These include:

• The E-meter is supposed to be able to tell which emotion the person being audited is feeling. There seems to be no evidence for this, despite the Church's claims.
• According to Hubbard, "The E-Meter sees all, knows all. It is never wrong." This goes against what is known about how the E-meter and similar devices work, which vary a great deal person to person and can also be affected by environmental condition. The results gained from an E-meter (or lie detector) depend a great deal on the interpretation the auditor takes, which adds more uncertainty into the mix.

With all the above said, it is important to note that the E-meter does actually measure changes in galvanic skin response. Galvanic skin response (or GSR), also known as electrodermal response (EDR) or psychogalvanic reflex (PGR), is a method of measuring the electrical resistance of the skin and interpreting it as an image of activity in certain parts of the body. ...

Other Theories of Electrical Medicine

New developments in science are often adapted into questionable therapies. Magnets were, and still are, used as elements in cure-all devices. Magnet therapy, or magnetic therapy, or magnotherapy is an alternative medicine claiming that certain medical disorders can be effectively treated by exposure to magnetic fields. ...

See also

• Radioactive quackery
• E-meter (measures galvanic skin response; used in Scientology)
• Electroacupuncture
• Violet wand
• Electroconvulsive therapy

Radioactive quackery refers to various products sold during the early 20th century, after the discovery of radioactivity, which promised radioactivity as a cure for various ills. ... Mark Super VII Quantum E-meter An E-Meter is a battery-powered electronic device manufactured by the Church of Scientologys Gold Base. ... Galvanic skin response (or GSR), also known as electrodermal response (EDR) or psychogalvanic reflex (PGR), is a method of measuring the electrical resistance of the skin and interpreting it as an image of activity in certain parts of the body. ... Scientology is a system of beliefs and practices created by American pulp fiction[1][2] and science fiction [3] author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a self-help philosophy. ... Electroacupuncture is a form of acupuncture in which acupuncture needles are attached to a device that generates continuous electric pulses, generating a small electric current that flows between pairs of needles. ... A violet ray or violet wand is a device used for the application of low current,high voltage (min 10kv to max 50kv typacally), high frequency electricity to the body using a Tesla coil, originally sold as a quack medical device claimed to be useful in electrotherapy, though, since the... Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock, is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are induced with electricity. ...

External links

• Quack "Electrodiagnostic" Devices by Stephen Barrett, M.D. (a Quackwatch paper)
• Radionics in The Skeptic's Dictionary