John Kanzius

This article is about the inventor. For the 15th century theologian, see John Cantius.
John S. Kanzius
Kanzius, circa 2005
Born(1944-03-01)March 1, 1944
Washington, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedFebruary 18, 2009(2009-02-18) (aged 64)
Fort Myers, Florida, United States
Resting placeMillcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Alma materTrinity High School (Washington, Pennsylvania)
Occupation(s)Radio and Television Engineer
Known forRF generator

John S. Kanzius (March 1, 1944 – February 18, 2009) was an American inventor, radio and TV engineer, one-time station owner and ham radio operator (call sign: K3TUP) from Erie, Pennsylvania. He invented a method that, he said, could treat virtually all forms of cancer,[1] with no side effects, and without the need for surgery or medication.[1][2][3][needs update] He also demonstrated a device that generated flammable hydrogen-containing gas from salt-water-solution by the use of radiowaves. In the media this was dubbed "burning salt water". Both effects involve the use of his radio frequency transmitter.

Kanzius, self-taught, stated that he was motivated to research the subject of cancer treatment by his own experiences undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.[4][5] He died of B-cell leukemia with complications from pneumonia without seeing FDA approval and commercialization of his invention.

He was of Rusyn descent - his mother was Rusyn American.[6][7]

Cancer therapy

Kanzius RF Therapy is an experimental cancer therapy that employs a combination of either gold or carbon nanoparticles and radio waves.[2][8][9]

The specific absorption rate for radio waves by living tissue in the proposed wavelengths and intensity levels is very low. Metals absorb this energy much more efficiently than tissue through dielectric heating; Richard Smalley has suggested that carbon nanotubes could be used to similar purpose.[10] If nanoparticles were to be preferentially bound to cancer sites, cancer cells could be destroyed or induced into apoptosis while leaving healthy tissue relatively unharmed.[11] This preferential targeting represents a major technical challenge. According to a presentation by Dr. Steven Curley, essentially all forms of cancer are potentially treatable using Kanzius RF therapy.[12]

Kanzius built a prototype Kanzius RF device in his home, and formed Therm Med, LLC to test and market his inventions.[13][14] The device was tested at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2005.[3] As of 2007-04-23, preliminary research using the device at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has taken place[2][15][16] and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center[13] If federal approval is granted, testing on human patients may follow.[5][11][17]

Burning salt water

Later in 2007, Kanzius demonstrated that the same 13.56 MHz radio frequency could be used to dissociate hydrogen and oxygen from a salt water solution, which could then be "burned."[16] Rustum Roy, a materials scientist at Pennsylvania State University, clarified that the dissociated hydrogen was burning, not the water itself: "The salt water isn't burning per se, despite appearances. The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen.".[18]

Kanzius' demonstration received coverage from local TV stations.[19] Despite news reports that this would allow using water as an energy source, that would represent a violation of the laws of thermodynamics and is therefore not what it does.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Tanya Simon (February 11, 2009). "The Kanzius Machine: A Cancer Cure?". CBSNews.com.
  2. ^ a b c Christopher J. Gannon; Paul Cherukuri; Boris I. Yakobson; Laurent Cognet; John S. Kanzius; Carter Kittrell; R. Bruce Weisman; Matteo Pasquali; Howard K. Schmidt; Richard E. Smalley; Steven A. Curley (October 24, 2007). "Carbon nanotube-enhanced thermal destruction of cancer cells in a noninvasive radiofrequency field". Cancer. 110 (12): 2654–65. doi:10.1002/cncr.23155. PMID 17960610. S2CID 15680068. Our results demonstrate that SWNTs can be used as a therapeutic agent to treat malignant tumors through RF-induced thermoablation, not just as a vector for the delivery of anticancer agents
  3. ^ a b Klune, J.R.; Jeyabalan, G.; Chory, E.S.; Kanzius, J.; Geller, D.A. (February 2007). "Pilot investigation of a new instrument for non-invasive radiofrequency ablation of cancer". Journal of Surgical Research. 137 (2): 263. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2006.12.293. Exposure to the radiowave field produced in vitro cell death as well as in vivo tissue destruction when metal ion enhancer solutions were utilized. Future work will focus on specific tumor destruction with tagged enhancer solutions and targeting of in vivo tumors.
  4. ^ "Center to test radio wave cancer treatment". First Coast News. Associated Press. 2005-05-11. Retrieved 2007-09-15.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ a b "Cancer patient invents treatment machine". CBS13. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  6. ^ "Famous Rusyn-Americans". September 8, 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  7. ^ Magocsi, Paul R., Pop, Ivan Ivanovich. Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture, p. 311. University of Toronto Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8020-3566-3
  8. ^ Paul Cherukuri; Christopher J. Gannon; Tonya K. Leeuw; Howard K. Schmidt; Richard E. Smalley; Steven A. Curley; R. Bruce Weisman (2006-12-12). "Mammalian pharmacokinetics of carbon nanotubes using intrinsic near-infrared fluorescence" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103 (50): 18882–86. Bibcode:2006PNAS..10318882C. doi:10.1073/pnas.0609265103. PMC 1665645. PMID 17135351.
  9. ^ C. J. Gannon; P. Mukherjee; S. A. Curley. "In vitro gold nanoparticle targeting enhances non-invasive radiofrequency destruction of human gastrointestinal malignancies". Archived from the original on 2007-12-29. Poster presented at the 2007 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium by Dr. Christopher J. Gannon, M.D.
  10. ^ Peter Panepento (2007). "Cancer Therapy Takes Next Step". Erie Times-News. Archived from the original on 2007-11-21. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  11. ^ a b "'Hurst hosts Kanzius cancer symposium". Mercyhurst College. 2007-04-23. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  12. ^ RF-Induced Thermal Destruction of Cancer Cells Presentation by Steven Curley, accessed November 2, 2007 Archived May 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ a b "Cancer survivor John Kanzius isn't a doctor". Fox News. 2007-05-11. Archived from the original on April 26, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  14. ^ David Templeton (2005-02-20). "UPMC set to test cancer treatment". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  15. ^ "Bio for Dr. Steven A. Curley". Alliance for NanoHealth. 2007-02-13. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  16. ^ a b O'Mara, Michael (2007-09-12). "Salt water fuel gets major university review". WKYC. Retrieved 2007-09-14. Note: This video transcript, although published in September 2007, contains quotes by Kanzius from May, as the video contained archive footage. For more information, please see the discussion on this issue.
  17. ^ David Templeton (2007-05-02). "Cancer research inspires Erie community". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-09-17. Dr. Curley has submitted two research manuscripts for publication and was unable to provide the latest results. But he said he is testing the treatment of human cancer strains in animals. (...) "This is the most exciting new therapy for cancer that I have seen in over 20 years of cancer research," he said.
  18. ^ Templeton, David (2007-09-09). "Salt water as fuel? Erie man hopes so". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  19. ^ O'Mara, Michael (September 12, 2007). Burning Water. Erie, P.A.: WKYC. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved 2007-09-14. Note: This broadcast video, although aired in September 2007, contains archive footage of John Kanzius from May 2007.
  20. ^ Ball, Philip (14 September 2007). "Burning water and other myths". Nature News. doi:10.1038/news070910-13. S2CID 129704116. Retrieved 14 September 2007.