Whole body hyperthermia – waterfiltered InfraRed A (wIRA)

Whole-body hyperthermia in the case of a warm-blooded organisms consists in breaking the natural thermoregulation. When fever is endogenous (e.g. as a natural reaction to infection), the rise in temperature is triggered by pyrogens such as interleukin 1β, interleukin 6 and interferon α, which act directly on the region responsible for thermoregulation in the central nervous system. However, when the temperature rises exogenously, the body activates the thermoregulation mechanism, which „fights” to return to the standard temperature (in humans around 36.5 degrees Celsius).

According to the current state of knowledge, the best method of breaking the thermoregulation mechanism in humans is the use of infrared A, i.e. infrared light in the wavelength range from approx. 740 nm to approx. 1600 nm. Infrared with wavelengths above 1600 nm is called infrared B and C and is not suitable for use in hyperthermia.

How does infrared A work in contact with the human body?

In a nutshell, human skin in its upper layers (stratum corneum, granulosum, spinosum and basale) is almost transparent to infrared light allowing it to pass through without heating up too much. Therefore, most of the energy of infrared radiation A reaches the deeper dermis and subcutaneous tissues, which are richly vascularized, so that the bloodstream absorbs heat and distributes it throughout the body like a liquid in a cooling system does.

Compared to infrared A, for example, a traditional sauna raises the body’s temperature much less effectively: first the epidermis and the basal layer must warm up (45 ° C being the maximum possible temperature), and these layers will in turn warm the dermis and vessels. Although the person subjected to the sauna feels hot and undergoes the associated heat stress, in fact the process of increasing the temperature of the whole body by +1°C is prolonged many times over time. It would take more than two hours in a traditional sauna to reach the actual temperature in the entire body at 38.5°C.

The principle of infrared filtration through water is based on the fact that the relative transmission of the skin to light in the A-band is very similar to that of water.

The so-called „infrared sauna” is based on the analogue principle, but is not suitable for a real medical procedure, because the latter requires precise temperature monitoring and medical care. The IRATHERM® 1000 is fully equipped in this respect.

The most likely scientific explanation for the similarity of water transmission to skin transmission is that this organ, which has evolved over millions of years of evolution, has adapted to sunlight reaching the earth’s surface through the humid atmosphere. Infrared filtering with water thus recreates the natural phenomenon of observed on Earth.