Electromagnetic therapeutic treatment device and methods of using same

• US 6,042,531 A
• Filed: 06/19/1996
• Issued: 03/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gradient Technologies (EWC HH&B Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Holcomb Healthcare Services LLC
• Inventors: Holcomb, Robert R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lacyk, John P.
• Application Number:
  US08/665,830
• Time in Patent Office: 1,378 Days
• Field of Search: 600/9-15
• US Class Current: 600/13
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/00 Magnetotherapy
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/008 for pain treatment or analgesia
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2/02 using magnetic fields produced by coils, including single turn loops or electromagnets A61N2/12 takes precedence

Abstract

A therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device adapted to interact with bodies of living organisms, including a method of treating a living organism with the device, the device including a plurality of electromagnetic bodies comprising a plurality of magnetic poles substantially in a single plane; the magnetic bodies being oriented to define the four vertices of a quadrilateral shape, and each of the magnetic poles exerting a magnetic force on the other plurality of magnetic poles when the poles are electrically charged; a ferroconductor flux return ring secured to at least one of the poles turned away from the organism being treated; a ferromagnetic focusing ring containing a ferroconductor metal ring and an electromagnet of the same polarity as the pole attached to the focusing ring in proximity to the four poles of the quadrilateral shape; containment component for holding the magnetic poles of the magnetic bodies in the orientation; and power supply for magnetically energizing the electromagnetic bodies, the energized electromagnetic bodies, each generating a magnetic flub field, the four magnetic poles when energized together generate flux field with a sharp three dimensional gradient and comprises a flux generator head.

Claims

1. A therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device adapted to interact with bodies of living organisms, comprising:

a plurality of electromagnetic bodies comprising a plurality of magnetic poles substantially in a single plane;

said magnetic bodies being oriented to define the four vertices of a quadrilateral shape, and each of said magnetic poles exerting a magnetic force on the other plurality of magnetic poles when said poles are electrically charged;

a ferroconductor flux return ring secured to at least one of the magnetic poles;

a ferromagnetic focusing ring containing a ferroconductor metal ring and a electromagnet of the same polarity as the pole attached to the focusing ring in proximity to the four poles of the quadrilateral shape;

containment means for holding said magnetic poles of said magnetic bodies in said orientation; and

power supply for magnetically energizing said electromagnetic bodies, said energized electromagnetic bodies, each generating a magnetic flux field,

said four magnetic poles when energized together generate flux field with a sharp three dimensional gradient; and

said ferroconductor flux return ring increasing the strength and radiant without altering the centered charge and symmetry of the three dimensional steep gradient magnetic flux field.

2. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 1, wherein said four magnetic poles include two positive and two negative poles, said two positive poles defining opposite diagonal vertices and said two negative poles defining opposite diagonal vertices of the quadrilateral shape, each of said magnetic poles being magnetically attracted by said two oppositely charged poles and being magnetically repelled by said like charged pole.

3. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of electromagnetic bodies comprise four substantially identical electromagnets, two of said electromagnets having a positive magnetic pole in said substantially single plane and two of said electromagnets having a negative magnetic pole in said substantially single plane, each of said four electromagnets generating a magnetic flux field when energized by said power means.

4. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 3 wherein said four electromagnets each comprise a cast iron core wound with electrically conducting wire.

5. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 4 wherein said electrically conducting wire comprises wire selected from the group consisting of copper wire and aluminum wire.

6. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 3 wherein the shape of said quadrilateral shape is selected from the group consisting of a parallelogram, a rectangle, and a square shape.

7. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 1 wherein said power supply comprises direct current generator and is electrically connected to each of said four electromagnets.

8. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 1 further comprising power control means for controlling the amount of electrical power supplied to each of said four electromagnets so as to regulate the magnetic flux field generated by each of said four electromagnets.

9. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 1 wherein said containment means is mounted on a support structure adapted to align said four electromagnets against the body of a living animal.

10. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 9 wherein said support structure comprises an elongated planar table having a first planar surface, said first planar surface of said table adapted for supporting the body of a living animal against which said four electromagnets are placed, said containment means being movably attached to said planar table for movable alignment with select portions of the living animal body, the magnetic flux field generated by each of said four electromagnets extending above said first planar surface of said table when said four electromagnets are energized by said power means.

11. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 10 wherein said planar table has a cavity in which said containment means being movably mounted on said second planar surface.

12. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 9 wherein said support structure comprises a chair having a substantially horizontal seating surface and a substantially vertical back support surface, said seating and back support surfaces adapted for supporting the body of a living animal against which said four electromagnets are placed, said containment means being movably attached to said chair for movable alignment with select portions of the living animal body, the magnetic flux field generated by each of said four electromagnets extending out from the substantially vertical back support surface when said electromagnets are energized by said power means.

13. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 12 wherein said chair has a vertically extending cavity behind said vertical back support surface and said containment means is mounted for vertical movement within said cavity.

14. The therapeutic electromagnetic treatment device of claim 1 further comprising electrically powered means for moving said containment means vertically and horizontally within said vertically extending cavity.

15. A method of therapeutically treating a living organism with an electromagnetic treatment device, comprising the steps of:

assembling at least one group of electromagnetic bodies having at least two positive magnetic poles substantially in a single plane, having at least two negative magnetic poles substantially in a single plane;

providing at least a ferroconductive flux return ring on each of the magnetic poles;

orienting said two positive poles and said two negative poles of said plurality of magnetic bodies in a single plane to define the four vertices of a rectangle shape with said two positive poles defining opposite diagonal vertices of said two negative poles defining opposite vertices of the rectangular shape;

fixing said orientation of said plurality of magnetic bodies in a single containment body;

selectively placing said containment body at a position against the organism or a selected area to be treated; and

energizing said magnetic bodies with electric power so that each of said magnetic bodies generate a magnetic flux field within said selected area; and

said ferroconductive flux return ring increasing the strength and radiant without altering the centered charge and symmetry of the three dimensional steep gradient magnetic flux field.

16. The method in claim 15, wherein the organism to be treated is a human being.

17. The method in claim 15, further comprising the step of positioning the containment body over the area of a human body producing pain sensations in order to improve blood circulation in the human body.

18. The method in claim 15, further comprising the step of placing the containment body facing the chest of the human body and exposing the myocardium to a steep field gradient penetrating the heart of the human body, for controlling pathological processes which accompany a myocardial infarction such as arrhythmia, chest pain and decreased myocardial blood flow in the human body.

19. The method in claim 15, wherein said containment body placed in relation to the heart of a human to treat said myocardial infarction controls the pathophysiology of the heart undergoing a myocardial infarction.

20. The method in claim 15, wherein said containment means is placed at a position in relation to the head and neck for treating seizures, cerebral edema and upper cervical cord edema.

21. The method in claim 15, wherein the containment body is positioned in a bank of magnetic flux generator heads for exposing the body to a steep field gradient penetrating the body of the human being treated for controlling pathological processes which accompany a serious burn.

22. The method in claim 15, wherein said containment bodies positioned in relation to the body of the human for treating the complication of severe burns controls the pathophysiology of severe burns.

23. The method in claim 15, wherein the containment body is positioned facing a second containment body with a quadripolar, steep gradient field penetrating the body of the animal for potentiating the effects of pharmaceuticals.

24. The method in claim 23, wherein said containment bodies position facing said second containment body with the quadripolar, steep gradient field penetrating the body of the animal to control cell death from stroke and other hypoxic injuries.

25. The method in claim 15, wherein said containment body is positioned in relation to the head and neck to treat nervous tissue and to protect from cell death secondary to stroke or other hypoxic injuries.

26. A method of therapeutically placing an electromagnetic treatment therapeutic head in proximity of the body areas to be treated, comprising the steps of:

assembling at least two groups of electromagnetic bodies having in each group at least two positive magnetic poles substantially in a single plane, having at least two negative magnetic poles substantially in a single plane, along with a ferroconductive flux return ring, flux focusing ring and focusing magnets;

orienting said two positive poles and said two negative poles in a single plane to define the four vertices of a rectangle shape with said two positive poles defining opposite diagonal vertices and said two negative poles defining opposite vertices of the rectangular shape;

fixing said orientation of said of magnetic bodies in a single containment body;

selectively placing said containment body at a position facing a second containment body with the quadripolar, steep gradient field penetrating the body of the animal; and

energizing said magnetic bodies with electric power so that each of said magnetic bodies generate a magnetic flux field;

said ferroconductive flux ring returning the magnetic flux for increasing the strength and gradient without altering the centered charge and symmetry of the three dimensional gradient magnetic flux field.

27. A method of therapeutically placing an electromagnetic treatment device in proximity of the animal body part to be treated, comprising the steps of:

assembling at least two groups of electromagnetic bodies having at least, in each body, two positive magnetic poles substantially in a single plane, having at least two negative magnetic poles substantially in a single plane, along with a ferroconductive flux return ring, focusing ring, and focusing electromagnets attached to the focusing ring;

orienting said two positive poles and said two negative poles of said magnetic bodies in a single plane to define the four vertices of a rectangle shape with said two positive poles defining opposite diagonal vertices and said two negative poles defining opposite vertices of the rectangular shape;

fixing each said orientation of said magnetic bodies in a single containment body; and

selectively placing containment bodies at a position in relation to a body part to be treated,

energizing said magnetic bodies with DC electric power so that each of said magnetic bodies generate a magnetic flux field;

said ferroconductive flux ring returning the magnetic flux for increasing the strength and gradient without altering the centered charge and symmetry of the three dimensional gradient magnetic flux field.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the body part to be treated is selected from the group consisting of an area of acute surgical procedures, to control pain and swelling and to promote healing, and an area of chronic non-healing wounds, to bring about healing.

29. The method in claim 27, wherein the method is utilized for treating the sickling of human cells, and said containment body would be positioned facing the second containment body with the quadripolar, steep gradient field penetrating the body of the animal.

30. The method in claim 27, wherein said containment body is positioned in relation to the body part to be treated such that the steep, three dimensional field gradient blocks, red blood cells, sickling and sludging as it controls pain of a sickling crisis.