ZYTO and iTOVi scanners - What's the story?

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Updated - December 12, 2025

ZYTO and iTOVIi scanners are supposed to measure „biomarkers“ on the basis of skin resistance measurements and issue recommendations that are decisive for the choice of various foods/supplements, as well as essential oils, etc.

ZYTO (ZYTO Corp. - 6126 West 960 North - Lindon, UT 84042 USA) and iTOVi, LLC - 336 East University Pkwy #1018 - Orem, UT 84058 USA offer devices that are advertised as follows:

ZYTO

Measures galvanic skin reaction (skin resistance) via hand contact and sends „digital signatures“ or „virtual stimuli“ to the body. The body is said to respond with measurable changes. The device analyzes these reactions and creates reports from which the identification of „stressors“ such as: Organs, muscles, bones, heavy metals, bacteria, parasites, viruses, electromagnetic fields, chemicals, allergens, food. It is intended to identify „biomarkers“. The result is a recommendation of „balancers“ (food supplements, essential oils, homeopathic remedies).

Depending on Software plan over 8,000 „biomarkers“ are to be identified and compared with a database containing food supplements, essential oils, skin care products, food, etc. from various manufacturers in order to make recommendations for the choice of these products.

iTOVi

Measures „biomarker reactions“ via skin contact. Sends frequencies to the body and analyzes „biological preferences“.
Creates personalized reports on „unresolved biomarkers“ and recommends specific essential oils, shows which products the body „needs“

Depending on Software plan more or less detailed reports are generated: „The iTOVi scanner sends the electrical signatures of essential oils and food supplements to your body. Your reaction is recorded at that moment and compared with your individual electrical signature. You then receive a report from the iTOVi with the products to which you react best.“

The „scientific“ side is provided by iTOVi here described.

Science - fact or fake?

It is claimed (link above under here) e.g. „Each essential oil product has a unique electrical frequency that can be mimicked by radio frequencies. iTOVi uses these radio frequencies as stimuli for a GSR scan.“

Radio frequencies are frequencies between 30 kHz and 300 GHz. However, vibrations of molecules (as contained in the organism, food, food supplements, care products and essential oils) are found in the much higher infrared range at 2700 to 4000 cm-¹, corresponding to 81 - 120 THz.

The detection of such short wavelengths is possible by means of THz-Time-Domain-Spectroscopy (THz-TDS) for time-resolved measurements or the conventional Fourier transform THz spectroscopy (FTIR), or.
Laser-based spectroscopy, such as:

• Frequency combination (Frequency Combs): High-precision lasers with an extremely narrow but continuous spectrum can generate and measure frequencies in the THz range either directly or through mixing processes (mixing diodes).

• Infrared laser spectroscopy: Highly sensitive diode lasers or free-electron lasers (FELs) can excite and detect specific molecular transitions.

• Raman spectroscopy While Raman scattering often uses visible or near-IR lasers, it can also detect vibrational frequencies in the THz range (as rotational bands) by analyzing Stokes and anti-Stokes scattering. 

This measurement technology requires high-precision laboratory equipment and does not measure a single wave, as is known from other high-frequency technology, but records the interaction of molecules with photons, which represent those vibrations and rotations.
Depending on the scope of services and equipment, the acquisition costs are between 30,000 and 150,000 euros.

This means that the „movement“ of the molecules is known, but not the claimed relationships in relation to „biomarkers“.

Biomarkers are according to FDA defined as objectively measurable, reproducible and scientifically validated, e.g. by laboratory tests (blood, urine, tissue), imaging procedures or physiological measurements. This does not include skin resistance measurements as carried out by the above-mentioned devices.

Silence in the forest

Inquiries via contact form and e-mail were not answered by ZYTO.

iTOVi referred to its website content. After specifying the questions, the support team contacted the founder and CEO Cy Tidwell who, however, did not reply either.

... justified?

The ball started rolling when NutriMost, LLC, released a NutriMost weight loss program developed by Ray Wisniewski, D.C., which included the ZYTO Hand Cradle and associated software as a central component. used, to „galvanic skin response“ and the data collected was analyzed by proprietary software to create personalized nutrition and supplement recommendations.„, and „The ZYTO technology was advertised as a „cell biocommunication technology“ to „listen“ to the body and find out which supplements and in what quantity the body biologically prefers.„.

At the end of 2014, the FDA inspected ZYTO for the first time and on 11.06.2015 issued a Warning letter to ZYTO pointing out that the software associated with the device required 510(k) clearance, which was not obtained. Despite repeated meetings in August 2015, ZYTO continued to distribute the software as a unit with the device.

The ZYTO Hand Cradle GSR was approved under K111308 for the measurement of galvanic skin reactions only. Despite prior notice from the FDA in the 2015 Warning Letter, the company reinstated the application of the ZYTO Hand Cradle GSR for the diagnosis of diseases or conditions.u.

The ZYTO website conveyed that the system first scans for general categories of „biomarkers,“ which could be specific body sites or anatomies such as organs, muscles or bones, followed by a subset of virtual „stressor“ items, including heavy metals, bacteria, parasites, viruses, electromagnetic fields, chemicals, allergens, lifestyle choices and foods.

In June 2017, NutriMost, LLC discontinued the ZYTO device.

During an inspection in December 2022, the FDA found that ZYTO complied with the required policies and procedures under the Quality System Regulation and performed certain verifications and validations on the product without the required testing.

The FDA asked ZYTO to immediately stop marketing the product and its accessories. Failure to comply could result in regulatory action, including seizure, injunctions and civil monetary penalties.

On 21.06.2023, another Warning letter issued to ZYTO.

Over 100 studies?

ZYTO provides the following link on its website Bibliography under which a total of four sections (tabs) can be found, under which studies are listed that are intended to present the ‘Scientific basis of the ZYTO technology„.

• Galvanic skin reaction (GSR) - Sources 1 ... 42
  show that GSR Emotional arousal and stress (Boucsein 1992, Dawson 1990) can be measured
  Applications consequently stress detection, biofeedback for epilepsy, lie detector
  GSR varies with skin moisture, pressure and temperature and can be simulated with any resistance meter (ohmmeter).
• Perception reframing - Sources 1 ... 36
• Biological energy fields - Sources 1 ... 27
• Transdermal Optical Imaging (TOI) - Sources 1 .. 9

None of the sources even begin to confirm ZYTO's claimed „biomarker“ recognition for organs, product recommendations through „biological coherence“ or diagnostic capabilities.

A study conducted by Dr. Stephen Barrett study, from July / August 2017, published on PMC and Missouri Medicine, came up with the following results from his 43 self-tests conducted over 10 days:

1. organ scans (16 basic scans):

• Average of 69 „biomarkers out of range“ (SD: 31.9)
• Wildest inconsistency:
  • Gallbladder was displayed 4x positive, 4x negative, 8x normal - even though Barrett no longer has a gall bladder!
  • Prostate was 7x positive, 4x negative, 4x normal, 1x not shown at all
• Cohen's Kappa: 0.02 (= almost random)

2. nutrition tests (27 tests):

• Pineapple: 7x „top negative food“, 3x „top positive food“
• Red potatoes: 7x negative, 3x positive
• A test recommended ONLY sugar / sweetener
• A test recommended, all fruit, vegetables and cereals to avoid

3. product recommendations:

• Average of 5.3 products per scan (SD: 2.6)
• Completely different products with every test

... to the conclusion:

There is no scientific evidence or logical reason to
believe that galvanic skin response testing can determine a
person's health status or strategies for health improvement.
All such devices and associated software that are used for
these purposes should have their FDA 510(k) clearance
revoked and be removed from the marketplace.

The small print (AGBs)

The GTC from ZYTO should be studied carefully before considering a purchase, because:

1. exclusion of the right of withdrawal
The „Return Policy“ section states: „NO RETURN AND NO REFUND POLICY AND ALL SALES ARE FINAL“.
This applies to distance selling transactions (online purchases) with consumers in Germany. ineffective.
The right of withdrawal according to §§ 312g, 355 BGB is mandatory consumer protection law
and cannot be effectively excluded - unless one of the statutory exceptions applies
(e.g. goods manufactured according to customer specifications, unsealed hygiene products).

2. clauses inadmissible under GTC law
Several clauses violate German AGB law (§§ 305 ff. BGB):

• Unilateral price changes„ZYTO may increase the monthly subscription fee at any time“ with only 20 days lead time is problematic for long-term contracts
• Excessive disclaimersThe very far-reaching disclaimers in the „Disclaimer/Limitation of Liability“ section would be restricted under German law
• Collection costs: The flat rate of 35% for collection costs is unreasonably high
• Arbitration clauseMandatory arbitration in Utah with class action waiver puts consumers at an unreasonable disadvantage.

3. warranty rights
The limited warranties do not correspond to the German warranty rights according to §§ 437 ff. BGB,
which grant consumers a warranty of at least 2 years.

The Rome I Regulation applies throughout the EU and also to contracts with companies from third countries (such as the USA). According to Art. 6 para. 1 Rome I Regulation the law of the country in which the consumer has his habitual residence applies - i.e. German law -if:

• The entrepreneur directs its activities to Germany (e.g. through a German website, advertising in Germany, delivery to Germany)
• The contract is concluded within the scope of this activity

German law on general terms and conditions applies as mandatory consumer protection law even if foreign law has been chosen. According to several decisions, e.g. BGH judgment of 19.7.2012, Ref. I ZR 40/11.

The arbitration clause compelling arbitration in Utah is also invalid. The consumer can, according to the Brussels I Regulation in German courts, specifically in the court of your place of residence.

Please also note: If the customer has no Cancellation policy is received, the period for revocation is not 14 days, but 12 months + 14 days (§ 356 para. 3 BGB).

As this is an MLM sales system, the advertiser does NOT act as a contractual partner. This means that anyone who has purchased via an affiliate (recommendation) link has concluded the purchase contract with the manufacturer. The aforementioned rights therefore apply.

ZYTO / visera - Rebranding

Following the FDA's 2023 Warning Letter, ZYTO has renamed its product line to visera and operates under the name 3300 Triumph Blvd, Lehi, UT 84043. visera now offers a different technology and claims to be

„Once scanned, Link processes the biometric data using proprietary algorithms to evaluate nearly 200 biomarkers. Your results include:

• A personalized wellness report with biomarker responses for body systems and lifestyle areas.
• A product and service scan that identifies options - such as nutritional supplements, massages or acupuncture - that can help rebalance out-of-range biomarkers.„

The now proclaimed TOI technique has only been scientifically validated for the determination of the parameters heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure (limited).

There is no validation for the claims:

• „Almost 200 biomarkers“
  There are no peer-reviewed studies that show that 200 different biomarkers can be determined from facial blood flow. The scientific literature is limited to the cardiovascular parameters mentioned above.
• Product and service recommendationsThe claim that the system can determine which nutritional supplements, massages or acupuncture a body needs has no scientific basis whatsoever.biomarkers for organ systems: There is no evidence that TOI can make statements about liver, kidney, digestive function etc..
• Emotional or psychological biomarkersAlthough there is speculation in the research literature that TOI could potentially be developed for such applications, there are as yet no validated methods for this.

As the device is advertised as a pure wellness product, there is no requirement for FDA approval.

The reference to the GTC thoroughly, naturally also applies to visera, LLC - for example:

„No refunds. All sales are final. Payments are non-refundable and Visera does not issue refunds or credits for partially used subscription periods.„

Conclusion

Since ZYTO and iTOVi advertise on the same technological basis (skin resistance measurement) with similar „properties / reports“, it is reasonable to assume that both devices do not have any significant performance features that can provide a scientifically tenable justification to confirm the claims made by the manufacturers.

It is doubtful whether the move of rebranding by switching to a different technology is a real solution to the problem: the claim regarding the biomarkers to be read out is not supported by evidence here either.
In any case, the FDA is not involved in the product classification as a wellness product.

Epilogue

The idea of using cell information to find out what the organism is lacking and where action is needed is a good one. However, if it were that simple, there would be no need for laboratory or other clinical diagnostics.

In order to give a small insight into this matter with a comparison, albeit certainly a limping one, let's take a look at the most well-known MRI technique (Magnetic resonance tomography - NMR - English Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), the clinical imaging procedure used to examine tissue and vessels non-invasively.

While the measurement of molecular movements results in very high frequencies, as explained at the beginning, MRI technology works with much lower frequencies between just 40 and 130 MHz.
The English term is more to the point, in the truest sense of the word, because here the „nuclear“ spin, the random orientation of an exemplary bar magnet, the atomic nucleus, without external impulse, is considered.
These so-called. PrecessionThe movement of the nuclear spin rotates around the vertical, similar to a wobbling toy spinning top. Depending on the externally applied magnetic field of 1.5 Tesla, in high-resolution devices also up to 7 Tesla, the strongest even works with 21 Tesla, the frequency selected by the MRI changes: e.g. 64 MHz at 1.5 Tesla or 128 MHz at 3 Tesla, or 900 MHz at 21 Tesla.
The acquisition costs of a 7 Tesla device in the commercial-clinical sector are around 5 million euros, for a research MRI with 21 Tesla they are likely to be around 50 million euros.

As soon as the external magnetic impulse acts on the core spins, the small bar magnets, they align themselves according to the magnetic field from their wobbling motion in order to return to their random alignment after the impulse, in Relaxation to fall.

There are two types of relaxation Longitudinal (T1) and Transversal (T2). They denote the reconstruction of the magnetization in the B₀ direction with energy dissipation (Spin-lattice relaxation), with tissue-specific time constants between 300 and 2,000 ms, or decay of the transverse magnetization due to interaction between the spins (Spin-spin relaxation), this at 30 ... 150 ms.

The imaging MRI signal results from these nuclear spins precessing in the transverse plane, because the nuclear spins returning in relaxation induce a voltage in the receiving coil of the MRI device, which is processed accordingly and reproduced as an image signal.

These correlations give an idea of the considerable effort required to measure molecular movements (IR spectroscopy, etc.) and - within very narrow limits - even to influence them (MRI / NMR).

In order to make the connection advertised by ZYTO, namely to identify biomarkers AND on top of that to define what the organism lacks or could be useful, a measurement would still have to be able to distinguish to which organ the „measured“ molecule belongs AND which laboratory values are hidden behind this molecule, what their values are, in order to then ultimately be able to draw the proclaimed conclusion as to how the condition and what is helpful to change it in the desired way.

The very simple and technically extremely undemanding measurement of skin resistance, which can be carried out with any cheap ohm meter (resistance meter) for less than 10 euros, is a very weak approach that completely misses the mark: „Topic missed“ would probably be the grade in German class ...