Prof.dr.h.c.mult. Manfred Von Ardenne
Founder Von Ardenne Institute/inventor of wIRA technologyProf.dr.h.c.mult. Manfred Von Ardenne – the core figure of hyperthermia
We must pay special tribute to and honor the memory of our founder and inventor of the wIRA technology & wIRA hypertermia devices and Iratherm 1000 WBH wIRA hypertermia device.
Manfred von Ardenne – a man of extraordinary mind – the favorite student of Max Planck, a close friend of Albert Einstein and, more important, of Otto Warburg.
He took out approximately 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear technology, plasma physics, and radio and television technology. He dedicated most of his effort to medicine, most of his publications being in the medical field.
Manfred von Ardenne
His private, self-financed medical institute (a team of physiologists, physicians, and biologists) is well-known for its pioneering work in research, development and distribution of local and whole-body hyperthermia devices as well as for the Oxygen Multistep Therapy (O2MT). The von Ardenne institute is the founder of German Society of Hyperthermia and the core of the European Hyperthermia Society.
(Otto Warburg asked his friend Manfred von Ardenne to find a sollution to his discovery of the “prime cause of cancer” – letters documenting this exist, specifically one in wich Warburg congratulates dr. von Ardenne for his hyperthermic work)
Manfred von Ardenne is also the pioneer and inventor of wIRA technology, having made decisive contributions to its understanding and therapeutic application of WBH wIRA hyperthermia for cancer patients.
He also invented other highly sophisticated units for local and WBH RF hyperthermia, similar to today’s advanced RF hyperthermia technologies, demonstrating his comprehensive vision in the field.
Original letter from Otto Warburg to Manfred von Ardenne
1. Letter from Otto Warburg to Manfred von Ardenne (April 1, 1967)
| Original Context | English Translation |
| MAX PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR ZELLPHYSIOLOGIE BERLIN 13 DAHLEM GARYSTR 32 Date: 1. 4. 67 | MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR CELL PHYSIOLOGY BERLIN 13 DAHLEM GARYSTR 32 Date: April 1, 1967 |
| Lieber Herr von Ardenne! Ich muss sagen, dass ich Sie bewundere, wenn ich das Buch durchblättere. Sie sind in den wenigen Jahren durchaus an die Spitze der Krebsforschung vorgedrungen… | Dear Mr. von Ardenne! I must say I admire you when I leaf through the book. You have certainly penetrated to the top of cancer research in the few years and, in any case, I don’t know of a single book in all of cancer research in which someone else has tackled the therapy problem with the same energy and versatility. |
| Mein Instinkt sagt mir, dass Ihnen auf die Dauer der Sieg sicher ist… Vielleicht kann ich in dieser Hinsicht noch abwesend sein. Je mehr Widerstand ich fand, umso mehr griff ich an und umso besser wurden meine Waffen. | My instinct tells me that victory is certain for you in the long run. You can now only make o n e mistake: that you give up too early, discouraged by too much resistance. Perhaps I can still be of some assistance in this regard. The more resistance I found, the more I attacked, and the better my weapons became. |
| “In Staub mit allen Feinden Brandenburgs!” Herzlichst, Otto Warburg | “Into the dust with all enemies of Brandenburg!” Sincerely, Otto Warburg |
2. Telegram from Otto Warburg to Manfred von Ardenne (On his 60th Birthday)
| Original Context | English Translation |
| ÜBERZEUGT DASS SIE AUF DEM RIWBHIGEN WEG SIND MOEWBHE ICH IHNEN HEUTE EIN LANGES LEBEN WUENSCHEN DAMIT SIE VOLLENDEN WAS SIE BEGONNEN HABEN = OTTO WARBURG = | CONVINCED THAT YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH I WISH YOU A LONG LIFE TODAY SO THAT YOU MAY COMPLETE WHAT YOU HAVE BEGUN = OTTO WARBURG = |
| Zu unserer Forschung an der “Krebs-Mehrschritt-Therapie” Telegramm des Nobelpreisträgers Prof. Otto Warburg zum 60. Geburtstag von Prof. Manfred von Ardenne. | Regarding our research on “Multistep Cancer Therapy“. Telegram from Nobel Laureate Prof. Otto Warburg on the occasion of Prof. Manfred von Ardenne’s 60th birthday. |
Verbatim Excerpts on Manfred von Ardenne from his critics:
– from a conference paper published in Conference Papers in Medicine, presented at ICHO 2012 Conference –
“The 1965–1975 period was the “crystallization stage” of hyperthermia development, when stable hyperthermic schools and trends began to take shape. It is marked by the name of Manfred von Ardenne, who was a prominent German physicist acting in oncology.”
Example of von Ardenne is very demonstrative due to:
- First, he was a man of extraordinary mind, usually moving step ahead the world hyperthermia, who easily changed concepts and technical solutions if they were ineffective.
- Second, his physical and technical knowledge were absolutely superior all over the world, and his technical facilities were virtually unlimited.
- Third, he was the independent researcher in socialistic East Germany; therefore his researches and practice were not affected by commercial biases.
- Fourth, he was a CEO in his own research institute and therefore was absolutely free.
- Fifth, it seems that his researches were not limited financially.
- Sixth and very importantly, he was not limited to hyperthermia in any manner because he looked for cancer treatment at all.
Von Ardenne started his activity in oncology in 1965 with a two-chamber hyperthermic bath with head cooling. In 1965, he confirmed the selective thermosensitivity of tumors [99] and presented his concept of multistep cancer chemotherapy [100,101] based on extreme hyperthermia and tumor acidification by DL glyceraldehyde.
In 1966 he announced “the discovery of a field of almost endless selectivity between cancer cells and healthy cells in cancer therapy with extreme hyperthermia” [102] which started the worldwide “hyperthermic race”.
By 1967, von Ardenne faced the phenomenon of noncomparability of results in vitro and in vivo [103] and faced the problem of insufficient hyperthermia efficacy, leading to the active search of thermosensibilizers. Tested between 1967-1969: menadione (strengthened by methylene blue), aterbin, progesterone, dimetilstilbestron, Tween 80, vitamin A, dimethyl sulfoxide and antibodies.
Finally, von Ardenne tried to attack cancer by a cocktail of modifiers, including radiotherapy. The idea of tumor acidification by virtue of hyperglycemia arose around 1968 [111]. At the same time, he changed extreme hyperthermia to moderate one (40°C) [114], realizing “a moderate reload” 25 years earlier than the world hyperthermia did.
In 1972, Ardenne presented the complete concept of “selective multiphase cancer therapy” (sCMT) [117], where “long-term acidification through activation of glycolysis” was the primary mechanism, and mild hyperthermia was auxiliary.
• 1973: Von Ardenne’s concept was replenished with multistep oxygen therapy, considered a multiplier of sCMT. This idea is now actively developed, meaning von Ardenne was again 20–30 years ahead of his time.
• 1985/1987: Von Ardenne rejected the Selectotherm WBH + LH concept and replaced it with the IRATHERM concept, based on whole-body infrared A radiation hyperthermia only.
• 1991: The von Ardenne Clinic for Systemic Cancer Multistep Therapy (sCMT) was launched in Dresden, allowing for systematic clinical trials.
• 1992/1993: A new system, IRATHERM 2000, was launched, and the final version of sCMT was completed: extreme whole-body hyperthermia + selective hyperglycemia thermopotentiation + supportive hyperoxemia.
