No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources, and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found the bracelets are "part of a scheme devised to defraud".
[1][2] Q-Ray, Balance, Bio-Ray, iRenew, Rayma, and Rico's Bio-Energy brand bracelets are considered to be of the "ionized" family.
Believing that it had reduced his lower back pain, he was inspired to found QT Inc., which began manufacturing and selling Q-Ray bracelets in the United States by 1996.
[5] Western interest in the Q-Ray Ionized Bracelet rose as a result of an infomercial campaign by QT Inc. which ran from August 2000 through June 11, 2003.
Q-Ray's theory is grounded in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and pose similar benefits to acupuncture, another practice designed to balance the flow of qi and controversial in scientific communities in regard to its efficacy.