Most of the tests listed below have little or no diagnostic value. A few are legitimate for some purposes but are used improperly for others. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are done primarily or exclusively by chiropractors. If you encounter a practitioner who uses or abuses any of these tests, you should seek advice elsewhere. Practitioners who do live cell analysis, biological terrain assessment, dental sensitivity testing, and cytotoxic testing in their offices are required to have CLIA approval for high-complexity testing. Except for freestanding commercial laboratories, blood banks, hospitals, and large medical offices, very few facilities have high-complexity approval. Only a few states restrict the use of unestablished laboratory tests. Nevertheless, if you encounter a practitioner who does these four tests and is not obviously running a laboratory, please ask your state laboratory department to investigate.
Blood Tests
- ALCAT testing
- Aroonsakul Provocative Test
- *Biological Terrain Assessment (BTA)
- BioNutritional Analysis (BNA): Quackery for Pets
- Blood pH Self Test
- BodyBio Blood Chemistry Report and Fatty Acid Analysis Report
- Bolan's Clot Retraction Test
- Carroll Food Test
- Circulating IgE and IgG Food-Immune Complexes
- Clifford Reactivity Materials Testing (CMRT) for selecting dental filling materials
- Cytotoxic testing, also called Metabolic Intolerance Test
- ELISA/ACT
- Functional Intracellular Analysis (FIA), formerly called Essential Metabolics Analysis
- Glucose tolerance test for "hypoglycemia"
- Health Equations Blood Test Evaluation
- HealthPrint
- Hemobiographic analysis
- Individualized Optimal Nutrition (ION)
- Live Blood Cell Analysis (LBA), also called Live-cell Analysis, Nutritional Blood Analysis, and Hemaview
- Lymphocyte sensitivity tests
- Libe and Dried Blood Analysis
- Mediator Release Test (MRT)
- Mercury testing for "amalgam toxicity"
- NuTron Testing
- *Nutrabalance
- OncoDiagnosticator
- Oxymark and Oxymark Stress tests
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for Lyme disease
- Polymerase Chain Reaction: other inappropriate uses (link to Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletin)
- Silicone Antibody Tests used to diagnose disease
Saliva Tests
- *Biological Terrain Assessment
- Candida Yeast Test ("spit test")
- Herbal crystallization analysis
- Mercury Test Kit
- NutraScan
- Salivary hormone tests for menopause and aging (link to another site)
- Saliva pH testing
- Secretory Immunoglobulin A, also called secretory IgA or sigA
- Urine/saliva pH test, also called Reams test, Bio-Energy Metabolic Efficiency Analysis, Biological Immunity Analysis, and Nutri Energy Systems Analysis
Urine Tests
- Amino acid analysis used as a basis for prescribing supplements
- Anabolic/Catabolic Index (ACI)
- *Biological Terrain Assessment
- BioTrac Analysis
- Heavy Metal Screen Test (NissenMedica)
- Lyme Antigen Urine Test [LUAT]
- NutraScan
- PrivaTest (Ideal Health)
- Mercury testing for amalgam toxicity
- Neuroregulatory Profile
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for Lyme disease
- Urinalysis by mail
- Porphyrin Profile tests for heavy metal and other environmental toxicity
- Urine Toxic Metals test (Doctor's Data | Great Plains Laboratory)
- Urine/saliva pH test, also called Reams test
Hair Tests
- Bionetics
- Hair mineral analysis
Dubious Devices
- ACMOS testing
- Acoustic CardioGraph (ACG) (link to another site)
- Amalgameter (link to another site)
- Bradford Variable Projection Microscopy (BVPM)
- *BTA S2000, Bioscan 2010
- Cancer Detector LEC-03
- CardioVision
- *Electronic-Allergo Sensitivity Test
- Electrodermal screening, also called electroacupuncture of Voll (EAV), bioelectric functions diagnosis (BFD), and electrodiagnosis
- *Insight 7000 (to detect "subluxations") (link to another site)
- Nerve-Express ("automatic nervous system analysis")
- Oncodiagnosticator
- Quantum Xrroid (also called EPFX and SCIO)
- Radionics devices
- *Spinal heat-detecting devices (handheld): Analagraph, Neurocalometer, Nervo-Scope, Nervoscope, Temp-o-Scope
- *Surface Electromyography (to follow patient progress) (link to Chirobase)
- Synchrometer for detecting cancers
- *Toftness Radiation Detector)
- Vegatest Device: Examination by a biomedical engineer
- ViziLight screening for oral cancer
Imaging Procedures
- Bio-Liminal Photography, also called Bioluminetics
- Cancer Detector LEC-03
- Cavitat ultrasonography (link to another site)
- Chiropractic Biophysics X-Ray Analysis (link to Chirobase)
- Computerized Regulation Thermography (CRT 2000)
- *Contour analysis, also called moire contourography
- Full-body CT scans
- *Inappropriate ultrasound testing)
- Keepsake Ultrasound Imaging
- Kirlian photography
- Polycontrast Interference Photography (PIP) (link to another site)
- SPECT: Unproven uses
- Thermography
- TyTron C-3000 Paraspinal Digital Infrared Imaging System
- Ultrasound: Questionable Use
- Chiropractuc abuse of ultrasound testing
- LifeLine screening (link to another site)
- Monitoring of stroke patients
- Screening (self-referred) via mobile units (Louisiansa Medical Board statement)
- *Videofluoroscopy: Inappropriate use
- *X-ray overuse by chiropractors
Physical Examination Procedures
- Armpit temperature test for "hypothyroidism"
- Auto-Immune Dysregulation Test
- *Contact Reflex Analysis
- Iridology
- *Leg-length testing for "pelvic deficiency" or "subluxations"
- *Muscle-testing (applied kinesiology) for allergies and nutrient deficiencies
- Nambutripad's Allergy Elimination Technique
- O-Ring testing
- Phrenognomy (link to another site)
- Phrenology (link to another site)
- Pulse and tongue diagnosis (traditional Chinese medicine/macrobiotics)
- *Spinal Analysis Machine (S.A.M.)
Skin Tests
- Patch test for mercury-amalgam hypersensitivity
- Provocation-neutralization
- Serial dilution-titration
Questionnaires
- Acumin Analysis for custom supplement formulation
- Ayurvedic "body type" questionnaire
- BodyBalance Health Check Risk Assessment
- B Vitamin Depletion Test (TriVita)
- Daily Nutrient Guide (New England Heart & Longevity Center)
- Delayed food allergy pre-screening survey
- Detox Screening Quiz (About.com)
- Detoxification Survey
- Dr. Weil's Vitamin Adviser
- Eckerd Drugs' "Personalized Vitamin" Questionnaire
- Institute of Blended Medicine "Symptom Finder"
- Chiropractic symptom questionnaire
- Great Earth's Nutritional Fitness Profile (1990)
- Health Analyzer (Nature's Sunshine)
- Hormone Balance Test
- "How Toxic Are You?" (Isagenics)
- Infinity Wellness Quiz
- LifeClick System
- LifeScript's Personal Healh Profile
- Liver Health Test (Sandra Cabot, MD)
- Mannatech Dietary Needs Assessment
- Neurotoxic Questionnaire
- "Nutrient deficiency" questionnaires
- NutriPax Program
- NutritionalTest.com questionnaires
- *NutriScan Targeted Health Assessment
- NutriTest
- Online Electromagnetic Radiation Test
- Pinnaclife Health Evaluation
- Quixtar's "My Assessment"
- Recovery Systems' Quick Symptom Questionnaire
- "Stress" questionnaires for determining nutrient needs
- Tension myositis syndrome (TMS) questionnaire
- "Yeast test" questionnaires
Miscellaneous
- Acu-Cell Analysis
- AndroScreen testing (link to another site)
- BioPhotonic Scanning
- Bizarre Tooth Charts
- Blind Spot Mapping
- Body Benefits test (Sciona)
- "Body Typing" as a basis for selecting diets or dietary supplements
- "Brain Mapping" (link to another site)
- Brain Typing
- Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis
- Discovery!™ Food Allergy HomeTest Kit
- GCF Toxicity Assay for "focal infection"
- Genetic Testing
- Graphology: How It Fools People
- LifeClick
- Lingual vitamin C test
- Meridian Analysis
- Nugenix genetic profiling
- *NUTRI-SPEC Testing
- Nutricom nutritional software systems
- Mercury Assist Program (also called Health Assist Program)
- "Metabolic Typing"
- Mold sampling
- Organic Acid Test
- ProAdjuster
- RealAge Test (Michael Roizen, MD, Mehmet Oz, MD)
- TOPAS (Toxicity Precreening Assay)
- Tumor chemoresistance assays (Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletin)
- Tumor chemosensitivity assays (Aetna Clinical Policy Bulletin)
- UltraLongevity quiz (Mark Liponis, MD)
- Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test to Detect Body "Toxins"
- Zinc Talley to test for zinc deficieny
Internet Testing
- FDA cautions against buying diagnostic tests on the Internet
- Does self-testing through QuestDirect make sense?
Federally Sanctioned Laboratories [1996] [1997] [1998] [1999] [2000]
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This page was revised on October 4, 2011.