This rather eye-catching device is a handheld Tesla bulb from a Fischer diathermy machine, a sort of quack medical device consisting of a Tesla coil wrapped in Bakelite and medical make-believe. The tube itself consists of a two chambered envelope with a disk shaped electrode surrounded by an unknown purple gas. The second chamber of the tube is filled with normal air and is shaped into a handle; this allows an operator to manipulate the tube over a patient without being shocked themselves. A single electrode on the top of the tube allows it to be attached to the console of the diathermy machine by means of a cloth wire. The gas fill used in this probe is at a much higher pressure than what is typically found in a Geissler tube or Tesla bulb, which is what causes the unusual ribbon-shaped discharge seen around the center disk.
It should be noted that some limited applications of diathermy, such as radio frequency cauterization techniques for surgery, have legitimate medical use. However, it is a far stretch from this to imagine that waving a glorified neon bulb over a patient will cure cancer, as advocates of diathermy regularly claim.
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