Changes in Peripheral Blood Flow Produced by Short-Wave Diathermy
David I. Abramson, Alvin J. Harris, Peter Beaconsfield, June M. Schroeder · 1957
1957 research proved radio frequency fields measurably alter human blood flow, establishing biological effects decades before wireless technology proliferated.
Plain English Summary
This 1957 study by Abramson examined how short-wave diathermy (a medical heating treatment using radio frequencies) affects blood circulation in the arms and legs. The research used plethysmography to measure changes in blood flow after RF exposure. This represents early scientific documentation that radio frequency electromagnetic fields can produce measurable biological effects in humans.
Why This Matters
This pioneering research from 1957 provides crucial historical context for today's EMF health debates. While short-wave diathermy was intentionally designed to heat tissue for medical treatment, the study demonstrates that radio frequency fields can measurably alter human physiology - specifically blood circulation patterns. What makes this particularly relevant is that it shows biological effects from RF exposure were scientifically documented decades before cell phones, WiFi, and other wireless technologies became ubiquitous in our daily lives.
The reality is that modern wireless devices operate at similar or overlapping frequencies to the short-wave diathermy studied here, though typically at much lower power levels. However, unlike the brief medical treatments examined in this research, today's population faces continuous, chronic exposure from multiple RF sources simultaneously. This early evidence of vascular effects from RF fields raises important questions about the cumulative impact of our modern electromagnetic environment on circulation and cardiovascular health.
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagrams extracted from the original research document.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 34 minutes
Study Details
To determine whether or not diathermy applied in a manner similar to that used clinically would produce an increase in circulation in a normal forearm, and to locate the vascular bed or beds mainly responsible for the change.
Twenty-six experiments were performed on 13 normal healthy subjects ranging in age from 23 to 50 yea...
At a bath temperature of 32 C., there was an almost immediate increase in blood flow with the peak r...
The results of the present study support the view that when diathermy is applied to an extremity in dosages comparable to those used clinically, invariably a definite increase in blood flow will be produced. Evidence has also been accumulated to indicate that at a bath temperature of 45C. the vascular bed primarily affected by the diathermy is in the muscular tissues of the limb. The fact that in all of the subjects but one the excess blood flow resulting from diathermy at a bath temperature of 45 C. was either greater than, the same as, or slightly less than that at 32C. is also of interest. It suggests that the vascular changes in circulation at a bath temperature of 32C. could be caused by the same mechanisms operating at the higher temperature, namely, vasodilation of muscle blood vessels.
Show BibTeX
@article{changes_in_peripheral_blood_flow_produced_by_short_wave_diathermy_g5829,
author = {David I. Abramson and Alvin J. Harris and Peter Beaconsfield and June M. Schroeder},
title = {Changes in Peripheral Blood Flow Produced by Short-Wave Diathermy},
year = {1957},
}