THE OLIGOSCAN ISSUE

 F O R E W O R D

A Radiologist’s View on the New Frontier of Metal Detection and Clinical Insight

As a cancer imaging specialist for more than four decades, I have spent my entire professional life searching for the earliest signs of disease—tiny distortions in tissue, subtle vascular abnormalities, microscopic shifts in inflammation. My world has always been about precision: to find the small things before they become big things. Yet even with the most advanced ultrasound technologies, Doppler analytics, elastography, and thermal imaging, one category of pathology has always eluded direct visualization—the intracellular burden of heavy metals and neurotoxins. This past month, that changed.

My introduction to the OligoScan has been nothing short of revelatory. As a new user, I approach every tool with clinical skepticism, especially when it promises something novel. But within my first day of use, the device detected elevated mercury levels in my own tissues—findings later corroborated by bloodwork. For a clinician who has spent his life relying on objective evidence, this was a compelling moment. The OligoScan made the invisible visible. This is where its true value lies.

Metal toxicity is often the missing link in chronic inflammation, neurological symptoms, endocrine disruption, autoimmune activation, and even tumor behavior. As radiologists, we see the consequences of toxic burden—fibrosis, vascular compromise, inflammatory “heat signatures,” organ dysfunction—but rarely do we have a frontline tool that helps us identify the biochemical origin of these patterns. The OligoScan does not replace diagnostic imaging, but rather enhances it. It is a screening beacon that tells us where to look deeper, where to correlate imaging findings with metabolic stress, and where to begin the detective work.

This is especially important in neurotoxin-linked disorders, environmental exposures, occupational hazards, and chronic inflammatory diseases. Detecting metals early changes outcomes. It forces a shift from reactive medicine to preventive intervention. When we understand the intracellular environment, we can predict how tissues will behave under stress, how inflammation will progress, and how pathology may emerge.

In my field, early detection saves lives. Now, I see the potential to apply that principle beyond tumors and vascular anomalies into the terrain of toxicology and metabolic imbalance. The OligoScan gives us another lens—one that looks at chemistry rather than anatomy, one that reveals precursors rather than endpoints.

As a clinician, I am excited. As a researcher, I am inspired. As a diagnostician, I now have a new doorway into understanding the human condition—not through what we can see, but through what the body has silently stored.

And for me, that is the future of medicine.

SPOTLIGHT FROM THE FIELD

 

THE PRACTITIONER WHO SEES INSIDE THE CELLS

For more than four decades, Dr. Jon Gamble, naturopathic doctor, homeopath, clinician, and mentor, has built a reputation as one of the world’s most experienced practitioners using the OligoScan—a real-time spectrophotometric device measuring intracellular minerals, trace elements, and heavy metals. Since 2012, when the technology was first commercialized, Gamble has integrated it into clinical practice with a level of mastery unmatched in the field. His insights, casework, and interpretive framework have shaped how hundreds of Australian and Southeast Asian clinicians use this tool to understand chronic illness through the lens of intracellular imbalance.

In a global conversation with DETOXSCAN’s executive team—diagnostic imaging pioneer Dr. Robert L. Bard, detoxification expert Daniel Root, and Dr. Lennard Goetze—Dr. Gamble emerged as a luminary whose clinical clarity and depth of experience offer a rare, grounded view of integrative toxicology. What unfolded in this meeting was not only a technical exploration of the OligoScan, but a portrait of a practitioner who has dedicated his life to understanding chronic disease at its molecular and metabolic roots.

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A Four-Decade Clinical Journey Grounded in Holistic Systems Thinking

Dr. Gamble’s background is as multidimensional as the conditions he treats. “I started with osteopathy and also studied homeopathy and then naturopathy… I did all three main modalities in the early eighties,” he explained, emphasizing that his work is built on structural, biochemical, and energetic frameworks simultaneously.

After nearly 40 years in practice, he continues to treat patients with chronic, complex, and often unexplained disorders: neurological dysfunction, chronic fatigue, migraines, brain fog, ADHD, pediatric spectrum disorders, autoimmune presentations, and metabolic collapse. “I mostly see people who are at the end of their tether. They’ve already been down the conventional route,” he said—a clear embodiment of what modern functional medicine aims to address.

His clinical work is matched by his commitment to teaching: “These days I spend a lot of time mentoring practitioners… helping with interpreting case results and therapeutic advice. Most of those people are also using the OligoScan.”

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Why the OligoScan Became His Clinical Compass

For Gamble, the OligoScan provided what traditional hair and blood tests could not: immediate intracellular insight. He once relied on hair tissue analyses but recognized their limits—dye, slow growth, and results that reflected excretion rather than storage. “I really liked the real-time results… and I really get the concept of looking at the intracellular space rather than the excretory space,” he said. “If you’ve got a chronic health problem, your ability to excrete toxins is hampered.”

This is a fundamental clinical distinction: blood shows today; urine shows what leaves; hair shows what accumulated; but the OligoScan shows what is happening inside the tissues at this moment.

That difference guides his detoxification strategies, his nutritional protocols, and his evaluation of neurological toxicity—including lead exposure, copper dysregulation, and metabolic contributors to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Copper, ADHD, and Gender-Specific Organ Targets

One of the most compelling insights Gamble shared involves copper distribution:

• “Children on the spectrum… 80% of them have a high copper load.”
• “In males, copper’s target organ is neurological—ticks, twitches, fasciculations.”
• “In females, the target organ is the liver,” often leading to IBS-like syndromes triggered by oral contraceptives blocking copper-laden bile flow.

This type of nuanced clinical interpretation is exactly why practitioners seek his mentorship.

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Using the OligoScan as a Clinical Tracker for Detoxification

One of the clearest themes in the discussion was Gamble’s use of the device to monitor detoxification—especially when prescribing micronutrients like selenium and iodine at therapeutic (and sometimes very high) levels for cancer or metabolic conditions. His example was striking:

“I had a patient with metastatic cancer… on one gram of selenium every day.
I could watch his selenium move in the intracellular space from one week to the next…
and I knew when to bring it down because I could see when the tissues became saturated.”

This is where Gamble’s philosophy becomes unmistakable: The OligoScan is not a diagnostic tool—it is a metabolic compass. “It’s only one piece of the puzzle,” he emphasized. “You still have to make your own therapeutic decision.” For DETOXSCAN leaders who prioritize measurable change in detox outcomes, this resonated deeply.

B O O K   R E V I E W        Mastering Chronic Disease: Toxicity, Deficiency and Infection Paperback  By Dr. Jon Gamble Illnesses of the 21st century are increasingly different. We are now faced with more patients presenting with autism, thyroid disorders, severe allergies, chronic fatigue, estrogen excess and chemical sensitivity. Successfully treating these patients challenges our reliance on conventional pathology tests. If we are not achieving the successful outcomes for our patients we must ask ourselves: are we recognising contemporary obstacles to cure? What further tests can we utilise to identify the hidden causes of chronic disease? In this offering, drawn from 30+ years in treating complex cases, Jon Gamble guides you, case by case, through the innovative methods he has developed for treating chronically ill patients. He describes how he resolves unresponsive cases and reveals the crucial obstacles to cure. He emphasizes the importance of discovering the underpinning causes of disease. Jon sheds new light on treatment for people whose illnesses have defied all attempts at recovery. This practical book, based on clinical experience, is for practitioners of integrative medicine who are looking for inventive ways to tackle their most difficult cases.

A Global Community of Practitioners Inspired by His Work

Gamble is the distributor for Australasia and Southeast Asia, having persuaded the French manufacturers to let him introduce the device in 2012 (“I resurrected my high school French to communicate with them,” he laughed). Today, he supports a community of more than 200 clinicians—naturopaths, nutritionists, herbalists, chiropractors, and integrative MDs.

He and his wife, Nyema Hermiston also a naturopath and researcher, run the practice together. Their household, he says, is full of “interesting conversations over dinner,” including collaborations on her newly published book about preventing autism- "Planning Parenthood in the Age of Austism".

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What the OligoScan Still Needs: External Validation and Regulatory Recognition

When asked about the device’s future, Gamble was unequivocal: “As soon as we have external validation studies—peer reviewed—it’s going to take off like a rocket.”

Regulatory bodies like the FDA in the U.S. or the TGA in Australia do not evaluate technologies like the OligoScan unless manufacturers seek approval, and in Australia, public claims can attract unwanted scrutiny. “You have to be circumspect in your use of the OligoScan,” he explained. But he emphasized that the science and results are sound—it's the regulatory environment that is lagging.

 

A Voice for Integrative Medicine in a Changing Post-COVID Landscape

Reflecting on shifts since the pandemic, Gamble noted a surge in patient skepticism toward traditional systems: “People lost a lot of faith… our practice has gotten much, much busier—too busy, really—since COVID.” This aligns with global trends: a movement away from hospital-centric models toward personalized, non-invasive, data-driven approaches—exactly the landscape where OligoScan thrives.

 

Conclusion: A Global Leader Guiding the Future of Intracellular Medicine

In his calm, thoughtful manner, Dr. Jon Gamble represents a new kind of clinical leader—one who bridges traditional naturopathy with modern technology, nuanced biochemistry with deep clinical intuition, and global mentorship with hands-on patient care. His work reveals not only how toxins, minerals, and metabolic stress shape chronic disease, but how real-time intracellular analysis can redefine early detection, prevention, and detoxification strategies.

For DETOXSCAN, he stands as both ally and guide—offering a vision of medicine where data is immediate, interventions are personalized, and healing is driven by understanding what is happening inside the cell, not just around it.

His mastery of the OligoScan has created a blueprint for practitioners worldwide. And as research, validation, and international collaboration expand, Dr. Gamble’s influence will undoubtedly shape the next era of environmental and metabolic medicine.