Strannik: Our Story 2003-2024

In 2003 we set out on our journey to try and commercialise the Strannik technology. This is our Story.

Strannik is, in its entirety, a complete solution to the three main aims and objectives of the EC’s EUR1.2BN funded Human Brain Project: (1) to understand what the brain does and how it does it - it modulates the coherent function of the body’s physiological/functional systems; (2) to use such knowledge to create a new generation of cognition-based diagnostic technology; and (3) to understand and adapt with therapeutic effect the multilevel (EEG) nature of brain function; i.e. to screen and treat the patient.  There is no other comparable body of understanding and/or screening or therapeutic modalities for the healthcare market.

In our efforts to commercialise Strannik since 2003 we have, by accident or design, focussed upon helping patients who were unable to receive relief from their various ailments using drugs and other biomedical techniques.  These are patients who, in their efforts to obtain relief, have been monitored and/or received treatment through the NHS.

Our starting point was the impressive body of data, from Strannik proof-of-concept studies which had been conducted in clinics and hospitals over the period 1997-2003. Indeed, such was the nature of the test reports and case studies that we felt obliged to validate such extraordinary recoveries/data by conducting our own studies before approaching the medical profession in the UK with such findings.

A little bit about the Strannik technology before I continue with our story.  You might think that our dedication of 20 years is meritable however Dr Grakov, the developer of Strannik, started his work in 1981/2 (42-43 years ago) when he was allocated a project to investigate the medical applications of low-level industrial lasers. This led him to research and develop the Strannik Virtual Scanning test (which is based upon the observation that pathological processes often emit biophotons of light) and the Strannik Neuromodulation therapy (which is based upon an understanding of how pathological processes influences brain function).  This is quite superior to the current understanding of ‘neuromodulation’.  At peak in 2010, ca 550 medical doctors were using Strannik, mainly in the Russian market, before internal Russian politics and business politics intervened.  An extensive list of case studies, mainly regarding the outcome of treatments of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy carried out in the period 1997-2003, can be supplied upon request.

Here are some of our experiences since starting to use Strannik in 2003. The list is not in any particular order.

• In November 2003 we received our first patient a man who had tried everything which medicine and all other non-medical techniques had to offer in his efforts to recover his speech after he had inexplicably lost his voice 5 years earlier. His condition was of ‘dysarthria’.  His hospital, believed to be Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre, advised that they had tried everything which the NHS could offer but that after 4 years they could not offer any other treatments. They advised the existing plethora of tests had illustrated that there was nothing the matter with his brain and vocal cords but they just would not communicate with each other. We were advised by the man’s wife that they had tried everything which contemporary biomedicine and complementary and alternative medicine could offer and that Strannik was their last option. After 6 days of commencing a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy he had completely recovered his speech.
• Again in late 2003 we demonstrated Strannik to the Medical Director of Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre. After demonstrating Strannik Virtual Scanning by testing a selected patient with a known array of conditions he advised that we had correctly identified the 5-6 medical conditions in the patient and that his hospital did not have such capability to make such sophisticated and correct diagnosis.
• We were consulted by a patient who had discomfort in her digestive tract however her doctor refused to confirm the Strannik Virtual Scanning test result of ‘duodenal ulcer’ which was only confirmed after the lady was admitted to hospital spitting blood i.e. with a perforated duodenal ulcer. She obtained compensation, presumably from the GP and/or his insurance, for the misdiagnosis.
• In 2004 we were approached by a 79 yo elderly gentleman who had a swollen foot i.e. a diabetic foot ulcer, which would not heal. He was seeking a solution because biomedicine was unable to do so. After a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy his foot ulcer was no longer evident and he was able to walk freely without pain or constraint.
• A lady from Perthshire had been travelling widely seeking a way of reducing the symptoms of her ‘trigeminal neuralgia’. She had travelled to the US, bought equipment which was claimed would relieve her symptoms. None of them worked. The Strannik Neuromodulation therapy vastly reduced her discomfort to the extent that she was able to resume a normal lifestyle.
• Between 2003-7 we travelled extensively throughout the U.K. to meet and assist patients e.g. to Glasgow, Northumberland, Kent, South Wales, Devon and Cornwall, Brighton, Manchester, etc.
• A lady contacted us for assistance because she was 59 yo and had recently experienced her worst ever migraine (experienced since 15yo). She advised that ‘she thought she was dying’. From the first day, of her first consultation and the subsequent onset of a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy, she has not had any more migraines.
• Following an approach to Sir Liam Donaldson, CMO at the UK’s Department of Health we were approached by the MHRA for placing an unregistered technology ‘on the market’. We challenged this ruling and were ultimately successful in our efforts to show that we were legally able to place Strannik on the market. In fact the MHRA advised that we could affix the CE-mark although, at that time, the wording of the directive did not make any reference to software technologies. The estimated losses to Montague Diagnostics Ltd of the MHRA’s intervention was ca £25-50,000.
• A young man enquired whether Strannik could assist his father who had been diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma and prostate cancer. After four 6-week consultations/periods of therapy his oncologist advised that there were no further signs of mesothelioma. He lived for several years more than was expected by the oncologist. (A more complete description of this case study was published on LinkedIn on 15/16th January 2024).
• We were contacted by the parent of an 11yo dyslexic child. Her reading abilities were assessed as being 2 years below her calendar age however 6 months later, after 3-6 months of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy her reading age was reassessed as being 3 years in advance of her calendar age.
• We ran a dyslexia study at a private school in the midlands.  There were very significant improvements in the learning abilities of the children/parents who persisted with the therapy.  As outlined above one particular child’s reading performance improved from being 2 years below to her calendar age to 3 years above her calendar age during her course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy.
• Thereafter we sought to have a dyslexia study undertaken at a U.K. university. The dyslexia team at the university were very interested but the clinicians objected so this brought matters to an end.
• We received, several times, the family of a Saudi Professor of Computer Science and screened their health using Strannik Virtual Scanning.  This family regularly travelled to the UK on business and to access health clinics in London. On several occasions Strannik Virtual Scanning identified cancerous processes and confirmed the family's suspicions.
• We were invited by a Spanish oncologist to run a proof-of-concept study using Strannik Virtual Scanning to screen the health of patients who had received chemotherapy. The study, subsequently published in a peer-reviewed journal, correctly identified the health of 17 out of the 17 patients who correctly completed the test/study. It also identified several patients in which cancers were at risk of reoccurrence.
• A patient and his wife travelled from mid-Wales for a Strannik consultation. Each year/summer he would experience the discomfort of a hayfever allergy.  On this particular year, following a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy he did not have hay fever.
• We ran some advertising via screens at several local post offices. One patient, female ca 40 yo asked to undertake a Strannik consultation. Her personal circumstances were difficult and enormously stressful. Her husband was having a relationship with her best friend. Such stress had led to enormous discomfort and lack of energy which she had been trying to treat with acupuncture for over a year, unsuccessfully so. The Strannik Virtual Scanning test indicated 'the presymptomatic onset of pancreatic cancer'. She received a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy which had the effect of giving her an energy boost. Whereas before she was low in energy now she was able to run /jog around her village however her exposure to stress was enormous. We met her several years later. She was undergoing chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer and had lost her hair. She died several weeks/months later.
• Whilst demonstrating Strannik at a medical innovation conference held at BioCity in Nottingham we used Strannik Virtual Scanning to test/screen the health of 20 attendees some of whom were from public i.e. who were seeking remedies for their ailments. Each attendee advised that the test results met their known health and test expectations. One patient was a doctor who was experiencing cognitive problems following a car accident and injury to his neck. The Strannik Virtual Scanning test identified the unique pathological characteristics of the injury upon his neck which was likely to prevent him from working as a doctor in the near future.
• We were visited by an internationally eminent A&E doctor from the US. He also specialised in 'energy medicine'. He spent 3-4 days with us learning how to use Strannik. He was interested because he had a diabetic leg ulcer and despite his efforts and knowledge he could not get the ulcer to heal. Strannik Neuromodulation therapy healed the ulcer within several months.
• Two nurses visited from Peterborough. They wanted to experience the test however one of the nurses was not impressed because her test results stated ‘rhinitis’ which was not apparent however she phoned several days later to apologise for doubting the results because she had indeed developed rhinitis.  
• We were contacted by a patient to determine her health.  She was unable to touch her stomach i.e. it was extremely painful to the touch. Her doctors were unhelpful and considered her to be mentally unstable. The Strannik Virtual Scanning test identified a range of pathological indications which identified abnormal blood flow throughout her abdomen. We used her test report to identify that her condition was of ‘mesenteric insufficiency’, a condition affecting 1 in 250,000 patients. Note: we now recognise that we can improve the report by using an APP to link the pathological markers identified in the Strannik Virtual Scanning test to known medical syndromes eg for complex medical conditions such as Raynaud’s Phenomenon, Mesenteric Insufficiency, Alzheimer’s Disease, and probably/perhaps also Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and other difficult to diagnose conditions. 
• We treated a patient who was in significant discomfort as a result of sleeping with an oxygen mask to treat sleep apnoea. After several months of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy his condition was sufficiently improved that his specialist advised that he no longer had any signs of sleep apnoea.
• In 2007, at a CAM fair held in Harrogate we were approached by a lady who had been diagnosed with a lymphoma in the side of her neck. Her consultant had advised that it should be surgically removed. Coincidentally a reputable professor/medical consultant from KCL was visiting our stand and offered his services and advice to this tearful and emotional patient. She contacted us for a сonsultation several weeks later and advised that she was looking for a non-surgical alternative and that she had declined the opportunity to have the lymphoma surgically removed. She tried ozone therapy which left her face covered in blotches, lumps and bumps. We advised that she should try one therapy at a time. Over a period of several months her lymphoma responded to a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy and she became more emotionally stable (she had asked her husband - a modern day saint! - for a divorce but withdrew this request after the therapy was completed). Despite monitoring her progress her consultant continued to recommend surgical removal of the apparently non-existent lymphoma.  Her condition was likely due to the stress encountered over a long period of time with a local farmer who took great satisfaction from driving his flock of sheep to the edge of a field immediately adjacent to the lady’s home in order to upset the lady.
• Some friends suggested that we apply for the USD1M Prize offered by the James Randi Foundation (JREF) for anyone who could prove the supernatural.  Our challenge was accepted. We were filmed in London. The challenge involved testing 5 patients and identifying which patient was suffering from a migraine. The test indicated that none of the 5 patients was suffering from a migraine but that one of the patients had a history of migraine attacks. This was absolutely correct, beyond expectations and beyond the capacity of current diagnostic tests. We never got a cent from JREF.
• The same friends, both doctors in different specialisms, suggested that I submit my published works as a thesis for the award of a Ph.D.  Cambridge University would not accept the task because I had not previously been a student so I contacted my home university who allocated my thesis to a professor in the sports medicine department. It was rejected but the rejection statement indicated that my thesis had not been appropriately reviewed i.e. he had not read the thesis. My comments were upheld so the thesis was allocated to the Head of the Department of Sports Medicine who advised that he loved the thesis because his doctorate/professorship was based upon Central Governor Theory i.e. that the brain governs the body’s function and health; and that he was recommending the award of Ph.D. based upon published works which at that time comprised ca 50 papers. The awards committee subsequently responded that they would only consider the award when the thesis was accompanied by a clinical study. Thereafter they changed the award terms to specify that only students who complete the required course of study will be eligible for Ph.D. so when I returned several years later with the requested study my application for Ph.D. could not be entertained.  
• I have now written ca 90 peer-reviewed papers which conceivably advance the understanding of migraine; dysarthria; CoVid infection and treatment protocols; sleep disorders; diabetes and diabetic comorbidities including Alzheimer’s Disease, depression/mental health and cancers; the aging process; etc.  I am particularly proud of my papers on diabetes, migraine, the aging process, alzheimer's disease, the 3-D significance of gene conformation, and the observation that Metformin is a biological buffer.
• A 62yo male sought to be treated by Strannik Neuromodulation therapy. He had recently been retired by his company’s medical team, from his employment as captain of a seagoing ship due to his extraordinarily high blood pressure which was described as being ‘off the scale’. After several weeks of the Strannik Neuromodulation therapy his blood pressure had declined to 130/90 which was satisfactory level for an ex smoker. He has enjoyed his early retirement.
• A doctor in South Africa ran a proof-of-concept study using Strannik Virtual Scanning to screen the health of 65 patients. The study report, subsequently published in a peer-reviewed journal, was an extraordinary example of how this technology can screen the complex health of patients, up to 14 pathologies in some patients. The doctor commented that it was ‘a great screening tool’.
• My work was embraced by Prof/Dr Hazan Parvez, former Head of the CNRS Neuroendocrine Unit, former Asst Editor NeuroEndocrine Letters, former Editor-in-Chief, Journal of NeuroCognitive Research.  He features as co-author of over 10 of my peer-reviewed papers.
• A paper on Covid was submitted to a specialist virology journal, in particular to the internationally eminent Editor-in-Chief, who commented that it was an ‘excellent’ paper however the article was unexpectedly refused for publication by the editorial team who repeatedly requested alterations in the paper until finally the dialogue with them was terminated.  It was subsequently published in a less specialist journal.
• We were invited by a migraine specialist to run a clinical study to assess how well the Strannik Neuromodulation therapy can treat migraines however I refused the offer because the neurologist required that randomly generated flashing lights were to be used as the placebo. I refused the offer of the study because the selection of a randomly generated flashing light placebo meant the study would inevitably fail.
• In 2010 we had discussions with the Director of Purchasing & Supply in the Department of Health who directed us to contact the Head of the iTaPP team. After several meetings we were submitted at the iTaPP team’s behest to the National Innovation Forum where a grant of £410,000 was sought in order to fund a proof-of-concept study.  The committee voted 10-2 in support of the grant however internal politics intervened and the award was not completed. I had been accompanied throughout this process by employees of ICON Development solutions who, following the 10-2 vote, invited me to accompany them and celebrate the grant award, but to our disappointment the grant was not signed-off by the Director of Innovation. Several months later the iTaPP team organised a study to be undertaken by a research team operating out of the main hospital in Gloucester. I attended the meeting which finalised the study which the DH was prepared to fund however several weeks before the study was planned to commence the clinician withdrew from the study citing that he did not have the personnel or funds to do the study i.e. the issues which had been agreed at the earlier meeting. Again, internal politics intervened.
• We compiled a summary and/or meta-analysis of all published and hitherto unpublished data. It was published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
• We were approached by a male who wished to understand his current state of health.  The Strannik Virtual Scanning test indicated that unless he reduced his considerable weight he was placing himself ‘at risk of having a stroke’.We have screened many patients who were overweight but on no previous occasions had we warned that the patient was at risk of having a stroke. The patient had a mild stroke - a trans-ischaemic attack (TIA) - several months later.
• I made an application for the X-Prize Foundation’s Tricorder Prize however we were unable to pair with a company which specialised in vital signs testing so we could not meet the terms and conditions of the competition. Apparently no-one won the prize although several were rewarded for their efforts.
• By 2014 I was 50% co-owner of Mimex Montague Healthcare. My responsibility was to secure the investment required to commercialise Strannik. 
• We have made grant applications in the U.K. and prior to Brexit to the EU’s Horizon and FP7 programmes; and have contacted both Directors of the Human Brain Project in our efforts to be included in the Human Brain Project and secure funding. All applications have been rejected however the decisions have not, in most cases, been unanimous.  On several occasions one reviewer has given a very high mark whilst the other two reviewers have rejected the proposal(s)!
• A client wished to determine whether a lump in his leg was benign or malignant.  He had such a condition previously which had proven to be benign however on this second occasion the surgeon wished to surgically remove the lump. The patient was at risk of being left with damage to his leg which would leave him with a limp so he wished to have confirmation re the most appropriate steps i.e. whether surgery was the most appropriate solution. He tried various diagnostic and/or screening tests which could determine the obvious site of the tumour but not whether it was benign or malignant. The Strannik Virtual Scanning test indicated  that it was a benign growth.
• We were contacted by a practitioner in Germany re a patient who had a very low level of white blood cells (leukopenia). After a course of Strannik Neuromodulation therapy his level of white blood cells had increased from 60,000 units to 125,000 units i.e. to within normal limits.
• In 2015, I travelled to Chongqing to attend a wellness symposium organised by the China-Britain Business Council.  For the first two days I displayed the Strannik technology alongside 10-15 other wellness technologies.  They must have hated me because we were 3-deep in people wanting to know about Strannik whereas they scarcely had any interest in any of the other technologies on display. One person, the manager of the Chongqing Import/Export Zone where the event was held, was particularly insistent that he be allowed to do the test. Upon completion of the test it was determined that he had early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. We recommended that he should have this checked by a suitable team of neurologists. Several weeks later his personal assistant confirmed that he had indeed been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease by his local hospital. Following the event the conference sponsor China Creation Holdings made an offer to invest in the Strannik project however after several months of exchanges and translation of documents the investment team advised their muted disappointment that the offer to invest had been withdrawn. We were invited to give a presentation at the prestigious 7th Chongqing Neurology Form which was taking place the following day and gave a very well received presentation to the 500-1,000 attendees.
• We had dialogue with a well known hospital group who advised that they were seeking technologies which could improve the accuracy of their health reports/predictions. They had come to recognise that their health screens, based upon biomedical tests and screens were unable to accurately predict health outcomes.  They were taking large fees from executives for expensive health screens and giving the patient ‘a clean bill of health’ only to find that the patient was admitted shortly thereafter with a severe health complaint e.g. ulcerative condition, heart attack, stroke, etc.  Consequently they were being sued for compensation by their client(s). They were looking for technology options which they could use to overcome such problems.
• I have travelled to Boston and San Francisco to support the X-Prize Foundation; to San Francisco, Ottowa, Colorado Springs, Dresden, Madrid, Berlin, London, Coventry, Dresden, Paris, Kerala, and Athens to give presentations to medical conferences; to venture capital events in London, New York, San Francisco.
• Over this period, in particular between 2014-2021 we have had dialogue with gatekeepers in several of the FAANG group of companies, a leading manufacturer of computers, a leading manufacturer of mobile phones, a leading manufacturer of software, a leading manufacturer of wearables, several major/leading manufacturers of medical equipment, several billionaires, several supermarket/pharmacy companies, etc; however their interest is (i) dependent upon our being able to take Strannik through FDA-approval and/or the CE-marking process and (ii) whether it poses a threat to their business model. There have been many people who have stated ‘please contact us when you have regulatory approval when we will be interested to invest’.  Of course they will but will we want to deal with them?
• We have had offers to invest from the Chinese company China Creation, and have had conditional statements of interest from several mid-range venture capital companies in the US i.e. they will not deal with companies which are based outside of the US.
• There have been two competing companies which have ‘muddied the waters in recent years. 

Theranos came along with its fraudulent offerings. At the time they secured contracts with a major supermarket/pharmacy group we had been trying to get a meeting to demonstrate Strannik. Regrettably all hell broke loose when the Theranos scandal broke and we got caught up in the backwash. Can you believe the immense amounts of funds raised by Theranos (est USD750M) and that none of the investors carried out due diligence?

Another similar example was Babylon Health (USD250M). We had met Ali Parsa CEO of Babylon Health on several occasions and were fully aware of the limitations of their technology/online consultations and APPs. Whereas we had gone to great lengths to prove the superior nature of the Strannik technology we were once again relegated to the side-lines, perhaps as a result of political lobbying by Babylon. Once again, our offerings were ignored. I should mention that, unsurprisingly at least to me, Babylon went bust in mid-late 2023. The author considers that another health screening company may conceivably fail in the near future.

Why did these two companies fail? In both cases the dream of the owners was to make money, by hook or by crook.  In both cases their technologies had fundamental limitations which would ultimately lead to their demise.

• My most recent presentation was to NHSX at Skipton House in November 2019. There were 100 people in the room and a further 200 online from Leeds.  It was very well received but unexplicably there was no further responses from them. 
• By 2020/21 international politics intervened and we were no longer receiving adequate cooperation from Dr Grakov i.e. which would ensure investment if we secured investment interest, so I dissolved Mimex Montague Healthcare however, following the unexpected death of Dr Grakov in 9/23, I made contact with his son and have agreed to resume my role as project lead.
• We have currently applied to the X-Prize Foundation’s Healthspan Prize.

In Summary,

In the period 2003-14 when the technology was legally able to be used (CE-marked from 2007-14)……..

Initial proof-of-concept studies have illustrated that Strannik Virtual Scanning is indicatively 2-23% more accurate than the entire range of diagnostic technologies against which it was compared and which were in routine use in the various clinics and hospitals in the study. Strannik Virtual Scanning has been deployed to screen patients with all manner of health ailments including cancers in the 30 main organs and conditions for which there is not yet a satisfactory diagnostic test eg endometriosis, PCOS, Raynaud’s Phenomenon, Mesenteric Insufficiency; often from their earliest presymptomatic origins e.g. lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostatitis/prostate cancer.  

The list is almost endless and corroborates the conclusions made in the various proof-of-concept studies that it is an excellent and reliable (if used correctly) screening modality.

The Strannik Neuromodulation therapy has been deployed to successfully treat patients with all manner of ailments including headaches, migraines, frozen shoulder, slipped disk, asthma, hay fever, impaired sleep patterns, sleep apnoea, diabetic leg and foot ulcers, mild cognitive impairment, excess weight, depression, enlarged prostate/prostatitis, low white blood cell count, and have clearly and indisputably slowed and/or reversed the progress of several cancers.

It is emphasised that the Strannik Neuromodulation therapy acts upon the stress response i.e. the influence of environmental factors and/or lifestyle/sympathetic nervous system/response, or phenotype.

Such studies support the conclusions made in earlier studies that the Strannik Neuromodulation therapy is indicatively 75-96% effective treating a wide range of medical conditions, often achieving therapeutic outcomes which exceed that which is possible using drugs. This supports the conclusion that ca 5-10% medical conditions have genetic origins and that 90-95% have non-genetic origins.

Graham Ewing, Director, QueMaCo Limited                                 17th January 2024

email: graham.ewing@quemaco.co.uk

Tel: +44-7885-755847

Appendix A

I feel that I should conclude this article/text with the following words of wisdom by Nobel Laureate Sydney Brenner.

Sydney Brenner, 2002: “In my paper, I put it in this way: ‘Behaviour is the result of a complex ill-understood set of computations performed by nervous systems and it seems essential to decompose the question into two: one concerned with the question of the genetic specification of nervous systems and the other with the way nervous systems work to produce behaviour.’ Thus, just as the structure and function of protein molecules is the necessary connection between the genes and metabolism, the link between genes and behaviour resides in understanding the structure of nervous systems and how they are constructed”.

An Interview with Sydney Brenner, 2008: “Another solution is to patch up the phenotype--which is what modern medicine is all about. But the real alternative is to come to grips with the environment and adjust it wherever we can to cope with health problems that arise from maladaptation”. 

The European Commission invested EUR1.2BN in the Human Brain Project to achieve what Brenner had outlined; in particular to (i) understand what the brain does and how it does it - it is a neuromodulator; (ii) to adapt such knowledge to create a new generation of cognition-based diagnostic technology; and (iii) to understand and adapt with therapeutic effect the multi-level nature of brain function. In other words to screen and treat the patient. One HBP research team developed a Strannik-type test but was unable to progress further.

This is what has been developed and incorporated by Grakov into his Strannik technology. Thank you.