PINE TREE CLINIC FOR COMPREHENSIVE MEDICINE
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Diagnostic Tests at Pine Tree Clinic for
Comprehensive Medicine

• Heart Rate Variability (Autonomic Nervous System Assessment)
• Biological Terrain Management (BTM)
• Hair Mineral Analysis (HMA)
• Autonomic Response Testing (ART)
• Iris Evaluation
• Dental Panorex
• Blood Profiles
• Urine Organic Acids Test
• Plasma Amino Acid Test
• Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA)

Computerized Regulation Thermography (CRT)

Computerized regulation thermography, or CRT, is an objective, noninvasive, and safe way of evaluating the body’s functions. CRT, also simply called thermography, represents one of several objective diagnostic evaluations in integrative medicine. It is a medical imaging method that supplies information as meaningful as that obtained through an MRI or X ray. More than 1,500 physicians in Europe use CRT. Current medical journals contain more than 12,000 citations and studies on thermography.

CRT evaluates body functions by a direct temperature measurement probe instead of by measuring thermal radiation. This scanning method is far more precise than any other thermographic system. The complete autonomic nervous system is mapped out as the probe projects to and from each organ or tissue. With this form of thermography, we can finally see what the body is doing long before it becomes dysfunctional enough to create an irreversible problem. CRT does not diagnose disease; rather it identifies patterns that lead to disease so that these patterns can be successfully treated.

Why Is Thermography Helpful?

In chronic disease, there are often factors that block successful treatment. These include:

• Infections in the teeth
• Low-grade chronic viral or fungal infection
• Heavy metal toxicity
• Chronic psychological imbalances
• Intestinal toxins and dysfunction
• Immune system weaknesses
• Lymphatic obstructions
• Food allergies

With thermography, we can see if and where these imbalances are found in the body.

Remember that no illness occurs in isolation. There are always patterns of dysfunction. These eventually lead to symptoms of illness, often only after years of dysfunction. It is these patterns of dysfunction that the holistic practitioner attempts to identify in order to provide guidance toward a successful treatment program. The results of the thermography evaluation, together with other diagnostic testing, are needed to design an effective treatment program.

Remember that healing requires a change in lifestyle. Many of the imbalances in function we may see on a thermogram are due to lifestyle imbalances that have been in place for many years. With thermography, we can identify the patterns of illness that these lifestyle imbalances have impressed upon the system. Then, treatment can be more ably guided in a successful direction.

Mammography Versus Thermography

A major asset of thermography is in the area of early detection and confirmation of breast cancers. In a German study, 54 percent of breast cancer patients were correctly diagnosed by history and physical examination. The number rose to 76 percent when mammography was added. However, when computerized regulation thermography was used, the accuracy of diagnosis rose to 92%. Many women today are concerned about the effects of accumulated radiation from routine mammograms. That concern is addressed by instead using thermography, which involves no radiation, and ultrasound when necessary.
With thermography, we do not have to rely on mammographies. And with the growing controversy on the radiation exposure from repeated mammographies, as well as the not insignificant percentage of false-negative results, thermographic screening becomes increasingly attractive. However, it is always important for women to do thorough manual evaluation of their own breast tissue, and to have the practitioner do likewise.

INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY

Another form of thermography is called infrared thermography. This is a noninvasive diagnostic system using digital infrared thermal imaging to detect subtle changes in structure and function before pathology develops. It also provides information about a patient’s response to treatment. Localized or full body imaging occurs in seconds, and it is safe, with no radiation involved.

Heart Rate Variability (Autonomic Nervous System Assessment)

The heart rate variability (HRV) test is well researched and provides a quick and easy assessment of autonomic nervous system function. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates the heart, breathing, circulation, body temperature, digestion, metabolism, and hormones, among other vital functions.

As illness materializes, or as the body gradually stops functioning normally by physiological and biochemical standards, the autonomic nervous system stops functioning optimally. Since this system regulates our internal organ function, without a healthy autonomic nervous system it is difficult to heal or maintain a healing condition.

The two parts of the ANS are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic is our arousal system. It activates a fight-or-flight response when the body detects danger. The parasympathetic controls calming responses, such as sleep, relaxation, and nurturing. Many people’s parasympathetic systems have been weakened, and this may be seen on the heart rate variability test. Strengthening programs are then designed as part of a therapeutic program.

The HRV test lasts about ten minutes. A strap is placed around the chest that monitors 442 heartbeats, both when lying and standing. The machine measures the intervals between each heartbeat. In good health there is normally a very small but detectable variability of time between each heartbeat. When we stop functioning optimally, this variability narrows and gradually becomes rigid.

With this autonomic nervous system assessment, we can see how much functional reserve the patient has. This guides us in how much therapy can be tolerated at this time. We can also see the level of functioning of the patient’s general physiology.

The Heart Rate Variability Test is well researched and provides a quick and easy assessment of your autonomic nervous system function. The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) regulates your heart, breathing, circulation, body temperature, digestion, metabolism, hormone and other vital functions. As you become ill, or as your body gradually stops functioning normally by physiological and biochemical standards, the autonomic nervous system stops functioning optimally. Since this system regulates your internal organ function, without a healthy autonomic nervous system it is difficult to heal or maintain a healing condition.

The two parts of the Autonomic Nervous System are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic is your arousal system. It activates afight or flight response when your body detects danger. The parasympathetic controls calming responses, such as sleep, relaxation and nurturing. Many people’s parasympathetic systems have been weakened, and this may be seen on the Heart Rate Variability Test. Strengthening programs are then designed as part of your program.

This test lasts about ten minutes. You will have a strap around your chest that will monitor 442 heartbeats, both when you are lying and then standing. The machine measures the intervals between each heartbeat. In good health, there is normally a very small but detectable variability of time between each heart beat. When we stop functioning optimally, this variability narrows and gradually becomes rigid.

With this Autonomic Nervous System Assessment, we can see how much functional reserve you have. This guides us in how much therapy you will be able to tolerate at this time. We can also see the level of functioning of your general physiology.

Biological Terrain Management (BTM)

Biological Terrain Management, or BTM, is a quick and easy lab test to evaluate one's biological terrain. Using freshly voided samples of a patient's urine and saliva, the office will run tests that show how a person's body is functioning. The results of this test has proven invaluable to practitioners in correctly prescribing for one's particular biochemistry and physiology. The test also helps the practitioner to see which acupuncture meridian is most stressed and which is most deficient at the present time. He can then apply meridian treatments to help correct these imbalances, so that the patient may move more in a direction of healing. BTM's are often repeated weekly or biweekly, or even more often in more seriously ill patients, in order to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and see what is the next step in treatment.

This technology was developed by Tim Ray, O.M.D., of BioRay, Inc. in Los Angeles, California. The great value of this test is in its ability to evaluate what therapy to use at each level of a patient's therapeutic process. The image of peeling off the layers of the onion is very helpful here. When we heal, we are peeling off these layers. At each level there are new issues with which we must work. The test pays little attention to the name of a disease. This is still being done all the time in allopathic medicine, and still very often even in alternative medicine, where we are taught to take CoQ10 for heart failure or Glucosamine for arthritis. These can be very helpful in such situations. But by addressing the underlying biological terrain, the self-healing forces in the body become more active, regardless of the name of the disease. Tests like the BTM will soon revolutionize the practice of medicine in the world.

Hair Mineral Analysis

Assessing the mineral and heavy metal content in the hair is often a good way to evaluate body chemistry and how we handle stress. We can also see toxic blockages of enzyme function, as well as nutritional deficiencies. Minerals and heavy metals in the body are only partially present inside cells. Therefore, measurement of urine or blood is often not accurate.

The amount of a mineral in the hair does not necessarily reflect the amount in the body. The values of the hair analysis do not necessarily tell us whether there is too much or too little of the mineral in the body, but rather how the body is utilizing the mineral in its metabolism. In other words, a high calcium level does not mean we have too much calcium. Rather, it may indicate a low thyroid function, and a need for calcium supplementation until the metabolism improves.

Hair mineral analysis helps us to prescribe supplements correctly. By helping to balance body minerals, correct deficiencies, and improve glandular function and digestion, our body is much better able to heal. Hair analysis also gives a picture of our metabolic function over the past two to three months.

Since the body compensates and adapts in layers, as we move toward health we may actually at times go backward in layers. The first hair analysis may not reveal the deeper problems. Often it requires reevaluation with several hair analyses over a year to monitor progress. For example, as nutritional supplementation improves health, heavy metals may begin to be excreted by the body and show up in the hair, though these metals were not initially present in hair. (We recommend having a hair analysis only with a laboratory that does not wash the hair sample before testing.)

Hair mineral analysis also provides measurements for heavy metals. A healthy metabolism prefers minerals to metals. For every body function there is a preferred mineral. But if that mineral is not there, the body will take the next best option. For example, if we are deficient in zinc, which many people are, the body will hold on to cadmium, which is a very toxic metal, in order to metabolize. A hair analysis comes in the form of a graph of the metals and minerals found in the hair sample. What is most important is the pattern on the graph. For example, high calcium and magnesium, coupled with low sodium and potassium, suggests that a different dietary and supplement program will be needed compared to low calcium and magnesium and high sodium and potassium.

Autonomic Response Testing

The body and every cell within it is an antenna of electromagnetic energy. If this energy is working optimally at all levels, then we are in good health. We are absorbing and utilizing foods and supplements well, sleeping well, feeling energetic, and so forth. When this energy becomes deficient, we experience symptoms of illness. Proper regulation of this electromagnetic energy is what contributes to our state of health and well-being. Regulation is the capacity of the nervous system to recognize a stress stimulus and adapt to it. Most people have what is called restricted regulation. This means that the capacity to respond to stress is blocked. The cause of blocked regulation may be heavy metals, food allergies, environmental toxins, structural problems, or psycho-emotional stresses, among other factors.

Autonomic Response Testing (ART) is a form of muscle testing that determines how our autonomic or subconscious nervous system is functioning. Through ART, a dialogue is created with the subconscious in the body. ART was developed by Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt (www.neuraltherapy.com).

Dr. Klinghardt has developed increasingly ingenious ways of using our understanding of light and physics in muscle testing to make it more accurate in testing our state of regulation, or whether it is open or restricted. Tapping, incorporating color-tinted glasses, or moving the eyes in certain directions (like EMDR) can help keep autonomic nervous system regulation open and functioning better. This enables more nutrients and oxygen to reach the sub-cellular levels they need to reach in order for you to be able to heal.

In another part of the test, when the patient is holding certain fingers together, we can test muscle response to tell how well the nervous system is processing data, or processing the information it is receiving.

We pay particular attention to scars or teeth extraction sites. These are focal areas of infection or nervous system irritation. These focal areas have non-absorbable material in the connective tissue that is detrimental to our health. A devitalized tooth, with impaired lymphatic drainage, is an example of a focal area of infection. Muscle testing can identify the problem, determine if it is related to organ malfunction elsewhere in the body, and help us develop a treatment plan.

As we go on in the testing, the tester may also put his hand on various areas of the patient’s body. These areas correspond with internal organs and acupuncture meridians. This helps us to find current blockages and then discover what the body needs to heal. In addition, the organs that test weak often have deeper emotional issues that are contributing to ill health. For example, the kidneys may be weak because of electromagnetic stress, a root canal on a tooth that corresponds to the kidney meridian, heavy metals, or a deep level of fear and insecurity that is being held in the body regardless of how much cognitive therapy a patient may have received.

Patients leave with prescriptions for tapping certain acupuncture points to keep these areas functioning better, with a pair or more of color-tinted glasses to wear daily for a short period of time, as well as with their particular herbs, homeopathic remedies, and supplements.

IRIS EVALUATION

The iris is the colored part of the eye that surrounds the pupil. By observing this part of the eye, a trained practitioner is able to perceive markers and patterns as to a patient’s:

• Constitution—its strengths and weaknesses
• Tendencies toward imbalances and diseases, or to concentrate toxins
• Personality and cognitive processes, i.e., mind/body interrelationships
• Quality of connective tissue

The markers and patterns observed in the iris offer an opportunity to understand certain inherited strengths and weaknesses, according to Scott Moyer of BioEclectic Research Foundation in Santa Rosa, California. By making choices within the boundaries of our strengths and weaknesses, we have the opportunity to live a creative and balanced life. Iris diagnosis helps us to identify the therapies/activities/expressions that will balance our constitutional weaknesses.

DENTAL PANOREX

A significant part of biological medicine is the connection between the teeth and the body. More specifically, the condition of the teeth and the bones of the jaw are intimately related to bodily health and well-being. Such dental procedures as metal amalgam fillings, root canals, and jawbone cavitations can be contributing factors to illnesses elsewhere in the body. For this reason, part of an initial evaluation includes a dental panorex. This is an X ray of your total mouth. The significance of any findings are reviewed at an initial appointment.

Plasma Amino Acids Test

Urine Organic Acids Test

BLOOD PROFILES

A basic blood test panel is a good idea. Tests such as a CBC (complete blood count), chemistry panel, cardiovascular risk profile, thyroid panel, and hormone panel may be familiar. While standard blood tests at conventional medical laboratories may report test results as within normal limits, other good medical laboratories such as the Body Bio Corporation in Millville, New Jersey provide much more depth of understanding in their test analyses. The patterns of relationships within test results often reveal functional imbalances before they become diseases.

COMPREHENSIVE DIGESTIVE STOOL ANALYSIS

This is a commonly used test in functional medicine, a subsection of integrative medicine. The stool is collected and sent to one of a number of good laboratories in the United States. Valuable information is obtained about digestion, bowel function, and microorganism overgrowth.

These tests, when performed in a timely fashion, offer the practitioner the capacity to see deeper below the surface to the mass of the iceberg, and often discover imbalances that standard medical tests miss.