Collection: Richway Biomat
THE BIOMAT: EXPLANATION OF TECHNOLOGY
The BioMat is very different from a standard heating pad, because it creates radiant heat, rather than conductive heat. Radiant heat is also known as infrared light. This type of heat energy is very therapeutic because the heat is distributed evenly throughout the body. Conductive heat, on the other hand, deposits only on the skin.
The BioMat does get warm during use, but it never gets hot to the touch. This makes it very gentle on the skin, allowing FAR more heat to transfer into the body, compared to a standard heating pad. In fact, the BioMat Professional can deliver enough heat that an in-home sauna is totally unnecessary. Even people who own an in-home sauna tend to prefer the BioMat style of sauna treatment, because they can lay down and reach much deeper relaxation states.
The radiant heat is produced by hot crystals that cover the entire surface of the mat, and there are settings to control the desired temperature of the crystals. The crystals are warmed by a flexible heating plate that was originally developed by NASA to maintain the cabin temperature of space vehicles.
Far Infrared Light: This is the same phenomenon as visible light, but the wavelength is longer, so we cannot detect it visually. As the wavelength increases, the light can penetrate more deeply, transferring heat very efficiently. This is why sunlight warms us to our bones. If you hold a flashlight behind your fingers, only the red light can penetrate. This is because it has a longer wavelength than the other components of the light.
Negative Ions: These are air molecules that have an extra electron, hence the negative charge. They are abundant near large sources of moving water. Breathing these free electrons neutralizes oxidizing compounds (free radicals). They are an anti-oxidant! You may also notice benefits of mood and alertness, due to increased serotonin levels.
Amethyst: Natural crystals convert conductive heat into far infrared light very efficiently. Indeed, all infrared products rely on some kind of crystalline material for this reason, but some products use ceramic or graphite. Natural crystals have long been used for healing purposes, across many different cultures, and there could be a scientific basis for this practice, yet to be discovered.
The first picture below shows a spectrogram of the light output of the BioMat. You will notice heavy concentrations of light at 6-8 microns and 10-14 microns of wavelength. By producing a mixture of far infrared and medium infrared light, the BioMat is able to deliver heat evenly at many depths in the body, up to 6 inches. Every infrared product on the market has it’s own light signature, or “color,” just like different light bulbs can have different colors. The therapeutic value completely depends on the type of light that is being produced.
The second picture shows the 17 layers of the BioMat. This design is the result of extensive product research, including many iterations of product development. Each layer performs an important function