Well, the tooth fairy comment was mostly for the other readers… I actually get a lot of questions about devices like this, almost every day. Unfortunately I can not say with any honesty what many people would really like to hear. In this general field, it takes both honest opinions and an honest willingness to listen, so thanks.
Hi guys, has anybody heard about HUGO PEMF? Any personal or professional experience with the device?
I think Hugo is the brand that Tony Robbins was raving about in a recent book. I know it’s sold on Dr. Pawluck’s website. It’s a very high energy/intensity unit (based on manufacturer claims, that is). I think they’re shooting for that same segment of the market as the pulse center products but at a somewhat lower price point. Their top-of-the-line model uses a spark gap technology, which I understand to be a very old and outdated technology. The product comparison sheet on Dr. P’s website indicates that the “waveform” used in this product is something called a nano second pulse.
@Bob, I’ve been wanting to get your thoughts generally on the designation of the “waveform” in certain devices as “impulse” without an actual description of the shape of the wave and specifically what to make of this nanosecond pulse. Pulse center similarly describes their products as generating an impulse or pulse and will not disclose the shape of the waveform. Perhaps these products don’t actually have a waveform with a shape, which makes me wonder what research supports their efficacy.
Yes, that is correct. They don’t actually have a tuned waveform. It is more like a hammer blow than a tuned instrument. They do their best to disguise this crude pulse with terms such as “impulse” or “ringer” (such as striking a bell with a hammer).
Don’t be confused by their marketing pseudo-science babble; this is not resonating with anything biological, or anything like that. It is just a voltage breakdown across an air gap, no more complex or mystical than a spark plug.
And don’t get me wrong: even crude PEMF seems to have some biological benefit. But this type of technology is so old it is not even patentable (which is one reason they use it), and it generates huge amounts of very high frequency EMI noise, and the very crude waveform can not even be defined, because it is highly variable and is sensitive to things such as the humidity in the air, which greatly influences the dielectric breakdown at the air gap and changes the shape, duration, and peak of the crude pulse.
But it probably has noticeable biological effects.
I have to be honest guys- the intelligence level of your comments here is beyond my pay band :). I am buying a HOCATT ozone sauna and there is an option to buy it with HUGO built in the sauna (which doubles up the price of the sauna). I was trying to work out whether HUGO is worth the extra money.
Could you please kindly advise what the safest and the most effective PEMF device on the market is as I can clearly see that your expertise in this field well exceeds mine 
This is a really good question (safety), which is why people ask me about this literally every day. Here is a link to the last time someone asked me that question, earlier this morning:
The basic problem is that the question of safety is unanswerable for a number of reasons. If I say anything is “safe”, then I have just violated federal law. That’s a regulated word.
I could write a few more pages about this “safety” problem (and I usually do 
), but let’s just assume you will search that reply up on this forum, sit back and enjoy my rant, then come back here for the rest of my answer…
… OK, then let me tell you a few important relevant things I think you need to know.
The main one is that every thing is safe… until its not, then we all wonder how we could have been so stupid and not seen that it was dangerous.
So… long story short, a few years ago I was offered a lucrative deal if I would build PEMF into HBOT systems for a company. But I declined the offer.
This is because I believe it is inherently unsafe. This is because the way to start a violent and tragic fire is to add oxygen, a fuel source, and a source of ignition into a confined area. HBOT involves oxygen at pressures higher than atmospheric, and ozone is usually made by corona discharge on enriched oxygen from an oxygen concentrator. Thus, both HBOT and an ozone sauna each combine enriched oxygen atmosphere, plus a fuel source (any type of cloth, anything at all organic), and a source of ignition, especially a spark-gap based PEMF system, but also any type of PEMF where there could be a short circuit in the coils, for example. To make matters (much) worse, they each do so in a confined space.
This gives you oxygen + fuel + spark
That’s a no-no
It is inherently unsafe, no matter what nonsense a marketer is willing to tell you to part you from your money. If they disagree, get their professional credentials. Mine are:
Scientist
Engineer
Fire Chief (Retired, I was chief of New Hope FD, near Durham NC from 2006-2009)
If they have more knowledge and experience than I do, then go ahead and do what you think is best.
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Thank you for your detailed answer. I decided not to go ahead with hugo as apart from the adventurous potential for explosion in the presence of O2/O3, I didn’t like the key words in the previous comments such us old technology, unknown wave shape etc. This leads me to the question - what PEMF device should I buy? Could you please kindly recommend one (without an ozone sauna of course) as I would struggle to separate marketing nonsense presented by companies’ reps from genuine scientific backup?
OK I can probably help you with that. What is your main application or intended use for PEMF?
Keep in mind, I own Micro-Pulse and the ICES-PEMF technology built upon the NASA-PEMF/TVEMF development from 1996 - 1998, so I would be expected to have both a commercial and intellectual bias in my opinions. But I try to keep bias to a minimum, though I am only human.
haha i appreciate your intellectual rants… it’s such a benefit to us all that you’re a professor too! altho, you’re probably not used to talking down to our level of technical understanding as a professor… 
thanks for the continued education AND tech
I only found out about PEMF very recently when an ozone sauna rep tried to upsell hugo with it :). As an integrative medicine clinic we are looking for “outside the box” solutions for chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and other debilitation conditions failed by conventional medicine. Ideally those solutions should address the issue on cellular/ mitochondrial level. My number one priority is not to harm. My second priority is to achieve the best possible results without loosing my license to practice, so the device should be registered and approved for human use.
Then you probably want to look for a larger, clinical-sized model. I don’t develop or offer PEMF systems like that for several reasons, but generally they are called (incorrectly) “whole body” PEMF systems.
To start looking for one that is approved for human use, and the other things you want, you should peruse the Dr. Pawluk website (drpawluk.com). The site would be a good place to start, but honestly, it is nearly impossible to get solid, truthful information for the kind of PEMF system you want. PEMF marketers will tell you anything they think you want to hear, but the truth is that most modern, commercial PEMF systems have biological benefits. The scientific truth is that we really do not know why they work, but you can hear anything you want to hear.
I think the best thing to do is to talk to colleagues to see what they use, and how it integrates into their clinic. But other than that, most of these larger “whole body” systems are more or less functionally equivalent. About four or 5 of the most common ones are actually identically the same, just differently labeled and manufactured by the same factory in Post-Soviet Eastern Europe.
You might want to start with an affordable one from Pawluk. You can spend anywhere from $5k to $50K, but the more expensive ones are mostly just over-powered and over-marketed. But with any of them you are likely to see the clinical benefits of PEMF, and you can start your PEMF journey from there as you learn how to employ the technology. You will develop a good feel for the type of system that works best for you.
My technical opinion, and brazenly plugging my own technology, I think the best results from the use of PEMF are when you use occasional high-powered clinical PEMF supplemented with daily, personal, wearable PEMF (the technology I have developed and offer) which is much lower power but sustains the effect and is applied focally to problem spots. This seems to work extremely well for chronic pain and injuries, especially among the elderly.
Thank you for your time answering the question.
I was born and brought up in Russia - I wouldn’t touch any technology produced in post-soviet Eastern Europe with a barge pole :).
The problem with asking other medics to share their experience with their devices is a consumer bias. Once they invested a large sum in their device, it will be very difficult for them to admit their disappointment as it would be unethical for them to continue offering the treatment.
I am interested in a professional German bio resonance- type device, which seems to be endorsed by many German doctors and supported by some kind of research (though far from systematic reviews or RCTs:)). I met them on an integrative medicine conference last year. Do you offer private consultancy to look at their technology?
Yes, unfortunately that bias is there, and is difficult to correct for. One strategy is to talk to colleagues who have tried several different systems in their clinic. But that strategy also has its deficiencies.
In reality, when you cut through all the pseudoscience and fraud and bias, all that matters is: does the PEMF system in question actually work? That is a clinical question, and I am not a clinician. No matter how much you pay for me to consult, I can’t really answer that question.
Another option you could try would be to select several systems that have a good trial period and return policy. But the key is that you need to try several, not just one. You need to compare them by measuring clinical outcomes. You need to be aggressive and do this comparison within the return period. Then you could determine for yourself which PEMF system would work best for you in your specific clinical practice.
Thank you for the suggestions.
Unfortunately we are based in the UK and returning machines is not an option for us. My Hocatt shipping price from the US is $1500, returning it back would he quite expensive, hence I am glad I didn’t purchase the one with hugo in it :).
@Natalia, have you considered buying one of @Bob’s ICES PEMF devices (you could start low cost with A9) and trying it yourself and then upon realizing what we have all learned in this forum which is “wow, this really helps improve so many conditions”, you could consider evangelizing it or even selling it for a small markup, say 10% to clients? Just a thought… This could be in lieu of or complement a bigger/ limited time use device that you use for in office sessions.
Of course, I have considered that, but we are looking for a whole body device to use in the clinic as we deal with general health conditions rather than local pain/ sports injuries… But I will keep that in mind
Cool. I have purchased multiple devices for family with a variety of conditions. It has significantly helped them with chronic fatigue and chronic back pain. In my opinion, ICES PEMF, in addition to local effects as you noted, has a non local, systemic, inflammation lowering effect much akin to ultra low dose Naltrexone.
Ah, ok, I didn’t realise that. Bob didn’t mention the system effect of his device, hence I didn’t consider buying it.
Bringing up LDN as a comparison, makes me think that you or your family member definitely had significant systemic inflammation/ autoimmunity as the majority of population wouldn’t even know what LDN is! I am glad they are feeling better and I am very impressed that a small PEMF device could address a systemic condition
The search isn’t the best on this forum, but there are multiple references to the systemic effects of ICES PEMF.
Yes, exactly. Honestly, it is ICES PEMF that taught me what was possible in terms of shifting the state (primarily gut and brain). Of course, we had to remove the underlying sources of copper and mold poisoning and use a multi pronged approach to restoring gut health which does include ICES PEMF. But honestly, ICES PEMF and Ozone (IV, rectal, etc) are my top two tools for my family. My third is HBOT, but I am seeing IV Ozone be more impactful than the HBOT for mold poisoning. Fourth would be red/infrared light and fifth would be Neurovizr. These 5 are on top of the basics of clean air, clean food, and clean water and proper consumption of vitamins and minerals (primarily via food but may possibly also be supported with supplements) and supporting the GI tract to have the necessary absorption.
Additionally if you look at my top 5 in rank order and itemize the price of each, it is utterly astounding to me how effective ICES PEMF is for what is a modest amount (at least for developed nations) in the journey of restoring one’s health (and mind). I am grateful for the sheer excellence, innovation, transparency, and humility that @Bob brings to this world at this critical time of chronic disease and chronic pain. He states his motivation is to help alleviate human suffering, and frankly he has significantly helped do that with my family and we are grateful.
You speak Functional medicine language :). Yes, gut-brain axis is the key.
We do offer Ozone 10 pass and RIs. A Minor Ozone Auto Haemotherapy is also surprisingly effective. We have Sunlighten infrared sauna and I just bought a Hocatt. I’ve never heard of Neurovizr though, you always learn something new!
It looks like Bob prefers to underpromise and overdeliver as he was very modest when he mentioned his PEMF device :). Is this device safe (I know Bob doesn’t like this word :)) for cancer patients?