Hi @Bob
Is the A9 device a low-intensity PEMF machine? What setting to run it at so that it’s exhibiting 1mT or 1.5mT? Can the A9 penetrate deep enough (can it go 5cm) or would the C5 work better for that?
I am also very new to the device, so a couple of quick questions on accessories. What’s the use of the 9V adapter since A9 still needs batteries? What can I do with a 2x2 coil array that I can’t with the standard and short coils that come with the basic A9 unit?
Thank you so much!
It’s difficult to make correct and meaningful comparisons between our products because intensity in Gauss (or mT) is essentially biologically meaningless, no matter what a PEMF marketer tells you. The way to look at it is this:
(1) Use what works, regardless of the descriptions used by PEMF marketers
(2) The PEMF Pulse shape matters. When done correctly, the PEMF pulse shape can easily be 500 times more efficient than crude PEMF pulses (such as “square” or sine). So, if these crude PEMF systems are 250 times more powerful than an efficient PEMF system, they will actually only be half as effective. The rest of their pulse power is wasted (or it does harm).
But the bottom line: use what works and is safe, and try to disregard the fraudulent claims and noise on the Internet.
Answering your questions:
9V adapter for the A9 allows you to plug it into the wall instead of using a 9V battery. It is not really used by many people.
2x2 coil array was initially developed for use with pets (cats and small dogs) by sliding it under their bedding. But many people find it effective and convenient, especially for injuries near the surface, such as bruised ribs. Keep in mind: larger surface area coils = less depth of penetration, that is the physics trade-off.
Hi @Bob, I am intellectually curious - you have shared you know and respect Dr. Pawluk and worked together. Any reason why he continues to propagate the “gauss matters” argument? In the latest Peptide Summit this week his talk focused yet again on Gauss, despite saying his wife used a low power, portable device to heal her toe/foot (presumably one of your ICES PEMF devices), then he goes on to promote working with him but he wants people who are serious and prepared to send $4k - $6K. That rubbed me the wrong way given all I have learned these last several years using ICES PEMF and participating on this forum. My friends, family, and I know that one doesn’t need to spend $4k-$6k to experience the benefits of PEMF, and frankly your affordable ICES PEMF devices ranging from $400-$600 have pretty much helped with everything we have thrown at it (joints, gut, bruises, plantar fasciitis, broken elbow, rotator cuff pain, headaches, etc. note - we haven’t tried back pain which seems to get mixed results depending on the underlying issue from what I’ve read on this forum). No need to actually reply if this question is inappropriate to ask.
Sure, this is fine to ask. It’s actually an important question. But please let me begin by being a bit cynical…
I know Bill Pawluk very well. We have had two phone conversations, four emails, and a few texts in the past 48 hours, and I will speak at his DrSummits event this summer. So, I work closely with him. We work closely and we respect one another, but Bill and I are capable of doing something that almost no one else seems to be able to do: we simply disagree on some matters.
Allow me to clarify for those of you who are younger than about 50: back in the distant past it was possible for people to work productively and with mutual respect while also disagreeing on certain matters, both trifling and important. That was back in the good-ol-days when the word “compromise” meant that people worked together to find common ground and make positive contributions. As it turns out, both Bill and I are a bit old in our ways, and we still practice this ancient cultural habit.
That was also back in the days when explanations could be longer than 5 or 6 words.
So…
As for “Gauss matters”, well, the answer is really “yes and no”
What follows will be a conversational version of a concept from calculus.
The importance of Gauss as a biophysically important parameter for PEMF is because it is a consequence of the product of the fundamental parameters: dB/dt and time (pulse width)
This is how it works. Imagine you are driving a car.
You go a certain speed (dx/dt)
for a certain time (t)
the distance you travel is rate x time, which can be expressed as dx/dt * t
so,
distance = speed x time
This relationship is fixed, so that if you change one of the parameters, at least one of the others must change.
Essentially, Bill Pawluk is saying that what matters is distance
I disagree, I assert that what matters is rate x time
But these two are equivalent, so is there any difference?
Bill thinks no, I happen to think yes
In this analogy, think of distance as Gauss, rate as dB/dt and time as pulse width
The analogy is remarkably close, and the math is identical.
The main difference is that I have the responsibility to look at it from the perspective of a biophysicist and engineer, and Bill has to be able to explain it as a clinician to patients and non-scientist PEMF users.
That is kind of the first part of your question. Bill and I simply disagree, but we can both appreciate the viewpoint of the other.
The thing that makes this messy is that it is possible to force crappy PEMF waveforms to start to work if you crank up the amplitude (Gauss), because that also scales with dB/dt This is because taller waveforms of the same width are steeper on their edges. Think of a triangle: if you just make it taller but not wider, the sides get steeper. So, for about 60 years, people have been cranking up the power on poorly-designed PEMF systems to get them to work better, and this strategy actually does work, but not because of more Gauss, rather, because it also increases the steepness of the edges of each pulse (dB/dt), and that is what is having the biological effect.
I discovered this about 20 years ago, but it has not really become widely understood and accepted because it is a difficult concept and does not sell a lot of expensive PEMF systems.
Finally, to explain the price/value difference that rubbed you the wrong way:
I am the one person in the PEMF market who did not enter it to make money. Everyone else who sells PEMF does so in the context of a larger company with employees and major business expenses. For example, typically a company will allocate about 50% of its budget for marketing. Bill’s company is pretty standard this way. It’s not a scam, just the cost of doing business the normal way. This also explains why things like tennis shoes cost so much when the factory makes them for under $1 per pair.
I am the oddball here. I pay ZERO for marketing and pass that saving along to customers. I don’t pay commissions, I don’t pad the price to pay influencers or celebrities, I do not take part in affiliate networks where alternative health marketers leverage up each others visibility and price.
I do all of my own engineering and product development out of my own pocket. I do not have investors and I do not need to pay for technical services except for the very rare exception.
I do not spend money smearing lipstick on a pig to primp up an old technology to market it as something new.
I don’t pay for any of this, and therefore, neither do you.
Here is what I do:
I make stuff that works well for me.
I let my friends and colleagues test it.
I do my best to optimize it.
I have the components such as injection molds made inexpensively.
I assemble, program, calibrate and test each one myself.
I simply tell the truth about the whole thing.
If you want one, I will build you one and sell it to you at a slight profit so that my wife does not divorce me.
No one else does business this way so far as I know. As far as I can tell, a good PEMF system should cost about what we charge for them. Everything else you are paying for is not really helping you. But since I do not market aggressively, you do have to do some homework to find me and Micro-Pulse. That works out well for me, because then I can focus on helping people who are willing to put forth a bit of effort and can appreciate what I am trying to do.
I don’t sell the least expensive PEMF: I try to sell the highest value for the buck.
Everyone else has a different marketing strategy and that seems to appeal to a larger audience, and that is probably OK.
Oh, and one more thing. I know of at least three different PEMF manufacturers/marketers at this point who use my technology for themselves and their family, and do not even use their own much more expensive PEMF products. This is not speculation; I know this because they have told me so. One guy told me that his wife simply cannot do without her micro-pulse, while their $25,000 PEMF “luggage” product collects dust in their bedroom closet.
This little fact comes out in conversation when they call me to ask if they can market my ICES-PEMF technology. They eventually lose interest in marketing ICES-PEMF when they learn that there is not a big profit margin built into the sales price, but that happens after they tell me why they are so interested in distributing ICES-PEMF.
So, I know of at least three for sure, but I suspect there are more who have never revealed it to me.