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Rudolf Kempe
Frieder Karl Kempe, a native of Erlangen, Bavaria grew up in a house of pain. His father,
Rudolf Kempe, a successful businessman, suffered excruciating phantom limb pain. He
had lost a leg in 1944 in the legendary World War II battle of Monte Cassino. His son
Frieder, an engineering and science student, became intrigued by the Faraday Cage, the
19th century work of British scientist Michael Faraday.
He had noted that his father's pain often seemed to be weather related - "Whenever the
pain came, my father would predict rain. I realized that his scar had no healthy skin
covering, hence no protection from electromagnetic fields."
Frieder wondered if a "second skin" - the principle of a Faraday Cage - might shield
sensitive tissue, calm damaged nerve ends and stimulate blood circulation.
This began what has become a 30-year personal odyssey. After studying engineering,
Kempe began work on a prototype covering, which he tested on his father. By 1978, he'd
developed a thin fabric cloth with interwoven metal fibres that significantly reduced his
father's pain. He named the product Farabloc.
A Chronology
1969 - Frieder Kempe uses the principle of the Faraday Cage to combat phantom pain.
1972 - Early variations of FARABLOC are developed
1979 - The first generation of products are found to give remarkable pain relief for
amputees in Bavaria, Germany.
1983 - Incorporation of The FARABLOC Development Corporation in Canada.
1984 - U.S. patent pending.
1987 - U.S. patent granted.
1987 - First major research study: Farabloc in the Treatment of Phantom Pain,
Rheumatic Pain and Other Painful Symptoms ; Prof. G.L. Bach, M.D. Professor of
Medicine/Rheumatology, University of Munich, Germany, formerly Professor and
Chairman, Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology - Chief, University of
Loyola - Medical Division at the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois (USA) and the
University of Loyola, Maywood, Illinois (USA).
1988 - Conclusion of tests and studies, promoted by the Federal Government of
Germany in Bonn and conducted by the Bavarian Ministry (STMAS) in the Department of
Supply and Services, with no less than 68% success.
1989 - Permission granted by the Office of Research Services of the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., to conduct a double-blind crossover study.
1989 - U.S. Patent, EQUUSBLOC, also granted for use in veterinary treatment.
1991 - Clinical trials conducted by Dr. J.D. Twidale, M.A., Vet.M.B., M.R.C.V.S., Equine
veterinarian - Changes in Blood Count and Blood Chemistry while wearing Equusbloc
(FARABLOC) blanket.. Remarkable decrease of CPK enzyme.
1992 - Completion of the Double Blind Cross-Over Designed University of British
Columbia study, carried out under a contract funded by the British Columbia Ministry of
Health, The Efficacy of FARABLOC™ in the Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain.
1993 - THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF REHABILITATION publishes the UBC study.
1998 - UBC conducts a further double-blind study, The Efficacy of FARABLOC™ in
Reduction of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.
1999 - FDA Establishment Registration and Device Listing for Farabloc-LC (Limb Cover)
1999 - Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine Award - Robert Tait McKenzie Medallion
2000 - Health Canada: Medical Device Establishment License
2000 - THE CLINICAL JOURNAL OF SPORT MEDICINE, Philadelphia, PA, 10(1): 15-21,
January, 2001 PMID: 10695845 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] The Efficacy of
Farabloc™, an Electromagnetic Shield In Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness; Jian Zhang
M.Sc.. Douglas B. Clement M.D., Jack E. Taunton M.D.
2001 - THE BRITISH COLUMBIA MEDICAL JOURNAL, 43: 10; Pages 573-577; December,
2001. Alleviation of pain with the use of Farabloc, an electromagnetic shield: A review D.B. Clement, MD and J.E. Taunton, MD
2002 - A Systematic Review: Evidence for the Optimal Management of Acute and
Chronic Phantom Pain by Julie Halbert, M. Sc., Maria Crotty, Ph.D, Ian D. Cameron, Ph.D.
Publication: THE CLINICAL JOURNAL OF PAIN, Philadelphia, PA, 18(2): 84-92, March/April, 2002 PMID: 11882771 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2004 - United Kingdom University of York, U.K. Centre for Reviews and Dissemination
Dare Abstract 20020730 Systematic Review of Clinical Journal of Pain, 2002; 18(2):84-92.
2004 - British Columbia Chiropractic Association endorses Farabloc.
2007 - Major research breakthrough, Efficacy of Farabloc as an analgesic in primary
fibromyalgia; Bach GL, Clement DB. Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Mar;26(3):405-10. Epub
2007 Jan 11. PMID: 17216399 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Dr. Gerhard L. Bach of
Germany, who has an academic affiliation with the Department of
Medicine / Rheumatology at the University of Munich, conducted the research at Clinic
Auerbach, Bensheim. Dr. Douglas B. Clement, Professor Emeritus, Division of Sports
Medicine at the University of British Columbia, compiled and analyzed the data.
2007 - Frieder K. Kempe is awarded the "Business Excellence Award - Innovative Spirit"
from the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce in British Columbia.
2008 - Final IRB approvals: Controlled Study of Farabloc for Chronic Phantom Limb Pain Among Veteran Amputees.
Verified by Southern California Institute for Research and Education, November 2008. ( MedlinePlus).
 Frieder Kempe is a businessman active in both his native Bavaria and in Canada, with
investments including real estate, agriculture, gravel pits, major motorway service
centres and health products. Mr. Kempe and his wife Irene first visited Canada in 1978.
They became permanent residents and landed immigrants in 1985. All four of their
children, aged 16-20, fluent in both German and English, are Canadian citizens, born
and educated in Canada. The family resides in Coquitlam, B.C., a Vancouver suburb.
Mr. Kempe's father was a visionary German businessman who, in the aftermath of World
War II, anticipated the reconstruction and expansion of Germany's Autostrada and the
need of major oil companies to secure firm title to service station locations. He assisted
in assembling these properties and also acquired gravel pits to supply the construction.
Frieder, beginning in his teen-years and after leaving university, worked in and
subsequently became instrumental in building the family business.
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