Magic Necklace - CHOICE # 365

The Consumer Council has uncovered a case of dubious medical device promoted to alleviate body pain and many health problems by emitting what it calls "sound wave frequency".

It concerns a product in the shape of a necklace and hanging at the tip of the string inside a cloth bag is contained allegedly the miracle cure.

The magic necklace, priced at about $4,000, is widely advertised to be the product of a new technology embedding a certain sound wave frequency into natural quartz. 

Purportedly the frequency emitted by the quartz "resonates" with the frequency of the frontal upper part of the human body, thus producing the desired health effects such as promoting blood circulation and metabolism, increasing body heat and brain activity in the body of the user.

Following consumer enquiries and complaints on the product, the Consumer Council has sought proof from the supplier to substantiate its health effects.

The Council has also sought the assistance of a panel of medical and science experts in the field. The product was put through a series of laboratory tests by experts from the City University of Hong Kong. 

The result was nothing short of shocking to its users.

First, a sound wave detection experiment was conducted on the product, and the result: no sound wave emission (in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 20,000 Hz) whatsoever could be found from the product no matter whether it is worn by a person or not.

Second, when the anatomy of the product was examined, it was found to consist of a plastic bag of tiny bits of crystal-like material.

When the material was put under X-ray diffraction experiment and colour observation, it was deduced that the crystals should be amethyst, which is a kind of quartz.

Further, in the expert opinion of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (by Prof. W.W. TSO), while it is true that quartz can produce "piezoelectric and inverse piezoelectric effect" by supplying some external energy by means of a battery or other energy sources, it is doubtful quartz itself can produce emission without any external energy as is the case of the product concerned. 

In response, the supplier has contended that the tests are not applicable to their product as it heals the body by "resonance effect" which cannot be measured by the instrument used in those tests.

The supplier maintains that when the product alleviates body pain, it can produce a "domino effect" and lead to improvement of many other body problems. According to the supplier, a case record of 2,000 customers can testify to its health claims.

Medical experts, however, are of the view that only randomized controlled trials should be used to prove the health effects of a medical device before it can be prescribed for the treatment of patients.

The Department of Health (DH) opined that patients with chronic pain should consult doctors to make a proper diagnosis so as to determine the cause of the pain and to receive proper treatment accordingly. 

DH is following up to determine if the claims made by the product in its advertisements may have contravened the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance. DH is engaging a consultant to conduct the regulatory impact assessment so as to determine the best approach to regulate medical devices in Hong Kong.

As the elderly are more susceptible to the sales pitch of products with technological claims but without the necessary substantiation, more attention and care should be paid to them by their family members to avoid falling prey.