Microdynameter

Microdynameter

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Description
Francis Cutler Ellis, an engineer in Chicago, devised the Ellis Micro-Dynameter in the early 1930s. This device, it was said, would “make the human body function as a simple electrical cell and measure the current it generates.” And it could diagnose virtually every human ailment. It was marketed by Ellis Research Laboratories, in Chicago, and endorsed by prominent chiropractors. It was widely accepted by chiropractors for diagnosing “subluxations” and became their main bioelectrical instrument. This example, a Model SA-1, was seized by the FDA.
Ref: Francis Cutler Ellis, “Improvement in or Relating to Methods of and Apparatus for Determining the Electrolytic Condition of an Animal Body,” British Patent GB429595A (1933).
Francis Cutler Ellis, Micro-Dynamics: New Science in Diagnosis and Treatment (1933).
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
chiropractic device
electrotherapeutic diagnostic device
place made
United States: Illinois, Chicago
Associated Place
United States: Illinois, Chicago
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 35 cm x 25 cm x 35 cm; 13 25/32 in x 9 27/32 in x 13 25/32 in
ID Number
MG.274347.033
catalog number
274347.033
accession number
274347
catalog number
M-12041
serial number
636
6910-B
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Medicine
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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