A Brief History

Electroacupuncture According to Voll

To understand E.A.V. (Electroacupuncture According to Voll), it is helpful to first learn some simple principles of Acupuncture. For thousands of years, acupuncture has been used in the Far East by trained health practitioners. Western cultures started accepting it in the early 1970's. The human body is energy and has channels of energy, called energy meridians, connecting it together . In acupuncture, there are areas along these channels of energy or meridians, that have a different electrical conductivity called acupuncture points which connect all the systems of the body together. These points and channels of energy can correspond to specific areas, systems and organs of the body. Most of these channels have control end points located on the ears, hands and feet. We call these specific points CMPs - control meridian points.

In the 1950's, a German physician, Dr. Reinhold Voll, developed an electrical device called a dermatron to measure and monitor the conductivity of acupuncture points. Along with his associates, he started using his instrument to record acupuncture points on patients with a previous diagnosis. After testing several people, they realized that certain health conditions corresponded to the readings of his electronic device with great consistency. Dr. Voll then decided to see if he could determine a person's health using his instrument without any prior knowledge of the individual's condition. He was very successful, and called this technique Electro Diagnosis.

Dr. Voll's device had a meter with a scale that went from 0 to 100, with a reading of 50 representing optimal or good health. Above 55 might indicate too much energy or inflammation; below 45 could indicate low energy or a degenerated condition. He was then able to monitor the changes of the readings in relation to the patient getting better or worse. He also discovered that a person's readings would change depending on their state of mind, structural condition, the food they ate, or the supplements they took.

Currently in many parts of the world, these types of electrical devices are used in doctor's offices, hospitals and clinics to aid the health practitioner diagnose, monitor, determine food allergies, or to indicate specific supplements a person might need or use to improve their condition.