radionics

Radionics is a term used to describe a collection of paranormal or pseudoscientific practices that claim to diagnose, treat, or influence disease and health conditions at a distance using specialized devices or signals. Proponents assert that living systems emit energetic patterns or "rates" that can be detected and manipulated by instruments, sometimes using patient samples, photographs, or personal items as inputs. Practical devices have included dials, meters, circuits, and charts intended to correspond to diseases, remedies, or target individuals. Practitioners typically set an intended target's disease or condition on the device, then attempt to adjust energy at a distance or direct it into the patient.

Radionics originated in the early 20th century with practitioners who claimed to measure or influence the body's energy fields. The movement gained popularity in some alternative medicine and New Age circles, and various commercial devices were marketed as diagnostic or therapeutic tools. However, there is no credible scientific evidence that radionics can diagnose or treat disease, and its mechanisms are not compatible with established biology or physics. The field is regarded by mainstream medicine as pseudoscience and, in some jurisdictions, as a fraudulent or unproven practice.

Regulatory and professional responses have generally limited or discredited the use of radionics, with many devices marketed as "electrical" or "bioenergetic" aids facing scrutiny. Contemporary discussions of radionics typically focus on its historical role in the broader history of medical pseudoscience and its place in critical examinations of alternative therapies.