The effect of glow of different objects, including biological ones, in electromagnetic high intensity fields has been known for more than 2 centuries. However, the complexity of the equipment that was in use at that time hindered the profound study of the effect. It was only due to Russian inventors, a married couple by the name of Kirlian who independently came across this phenomenon in 1930 - 40, that high - frequency photography method became widely known. For several decades the Kirlians were involved in glow studies of various substances. They got over 30 patents. That's why this phenomenon became universely known as Kirlian effect.

Currently, the term Kirlian effect is interpreted as visual observation or registration on photomaterial of gas discharge glow, appearing near the object's surface when it is placed in high strength electric field. In describing the results of biological subjects study such terms as bioelectrography and Kirlian photography are also used.

Kirlian photography became widespread as experimental studies method: the number of works on Kirlian effect amounts to over 1000 publications. The issue that aroused the greatest interest was the study of Kirlianograms of biological subjects, mainly - of human organism.

Even the first studies of Kirlian effect revealed that Kirlianograms form changes along with the changes in a person's state. For example, it appeared possible to evaluate the general level and character of the organism's physiological activity judging by the way the fingertips and toes Kirlianograms looked, as well as to assess the state of various systems of the organism and to follow the influence of different impacts, such as medications, therapy, etc. It gave the opportunity to develop various effective systems of diagnostics based on Kirlian effect usage.

The advent of gas discharge visualisation (GDV) device, based on Kirlian effect, has marked a new stage in human nature cognition.

The main source of image formation is a gas discharge occurring close to the surface of the object under study. One can single out two main discharge types, related to formation of Kirlian images: an avalanche type, developing in a narrow clearance limited by a non-conductor, and the type sliding along the non-conductor surface.

The term "GDV-ography" was introduced for identification of a graghical registration method, and "GDV-grams (images)" - for the description of the image itself (by analogy with widely used terms encephalogram, cardiogram, etc.). The obtained data made it possible to formulate the definition of the method: Biological Emission and Optical Radiation, induced by electro-magnetic field, amplified by Gas Discharge with Visualisation due to computer data processing (BEO GDV).

As opposed to popular methods of medical visualisation, medical decision (diagnostic statement) in GDV-method is made not by means of anatomic structures study, but on the basis of conformal transformations and mathematical evaluation of multi-parameter images, whose parameters depend on psychophysiological state of the organism. At the same time basic physical processes tend to be the same both for biological (BO) and non-organic objects. Functional singularities of BO are manifested mainly in variability and dynamics of gas discharge images.

Gas discharge visualisation (GDV) principle can be presented as follows (see the drawing):

Voltage impulses from a magnetic field generator (5) are sent between the object under study (1) and dielecric plate (2), on which the object is placed. To ensure this a transparent conducting coating is applied on the back surface of the plate (2). With high field intensity in the gas medium of the space of contact between the object (1) and the plate (2) there develops an avalanche and / or sliding gas discharge (GD), whose parameters are determined by the object's properties. With the help of optical system and camera (3) discharge glow is transformed into video-signals that are recorded as separate shots (GDV-grams) or AVI-files into memory block (4), connected to a computer processor. A computer processor is a specialised software complex that enables a researcher to calculate a number of parameters and to make certain diagnostic statements (medical decisions) on their basis.