Minimisation of variations in locating an acupuncture point using a laser-device

Abstract

BackgroundIdentifying accurate acupoint is an essential component in clinical practice. A laser device can provide us with a visual guide for locating acupoints by dividing the space equally between two landmarks on the body. In this study, we compared the accuracy between the naked-eye and a laser device to locate an acupoint.MethodsTwenty-two participants were asked to mark acupoint PC5 on a male volunteer’s arm using two different methods: without a laser device (naked-eye) and with a laser device. The distributions of the acupoints were estimated by the kernel density estimation methods.ResultsThe overall distribution of acupoints was less when the laser device method was used, compared to the naked-eye method. We found significant differences in the longitudinal axis between the two methods, but no significant differences in the horizontal axis.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that direct measurement of the acupoint location using a laser device can reduce variations in locating points. Laser-assisted tools will help practitioners locate the acupoints more accurately and should be considered as standard practice, especially in acupuncture research and education.

Location of acupuncture points based on graph convolution and 3D deep learning in virtual humans

“…12 Similarly, Choi and Chae use a laser device to locate acupuncture points by dividing the space evenly. 11 In addition, infrared detectors can also be used to locate human acupuncture points, and the accuracy still can meet the requirements of needle application. 13 These methods are the anatomical landmark method, it is obvious that using x-ray, laser or infrared positioning in education or scientific research will produce a lot of inconvenience.…”

“…In addition, object detection can also be used to locate acupuncture points. 11 However, only location information can be marked on acupoints, which is not convenient for feature extraction by sliding windows, so the positioning effect of sliding windows is not very ideal.…”

Interpretation of acupoint location in traditional Chinese medicine teaching: Implications for acupuncture in research and clinical practice

“…Also, acupuncture needs to be formulated based on modern neuroanatomy and physiology rather than metaphysical concepts to improve our understanding of its mechanism of action (Cheng, 2011). Acupoints used to be anatomically located in clefts between bones, muscles, muscle fibers, ligaments, and/or tendons (Choi & Chae, 2019;Langevin & Yandow, 2002). The anatomical description of the location of acupoints is essential for the practitioner to be able to start looking for the points.…”

“…Moreover, several studies have focused on acupoint location and characteristics using modern technology or devices, especially in acupuncture research and clinical practice. The practitioners could directly locate and measure the acupoints more accurately with laser-assisted tools (Choi & Chae, 2019;Chon et al, 2019;Jang, Sun, & Jeong, 2019). To compare the location accuracy between directional and proportional methods, the bone length is calculated to locate acupoints using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (Park et al, 2006).…”

“…Functional magnetic resonance imaging has also been used to demonstrate the specificity of acupoint location (Kong et al, 2009). Compared to traditional methods, there is less variation in acupoint location when using assistive devices, but it may take time for practitioners in the clinical practice (Choi & Chae, 2019). In the future, more consistent and reliable devices would aid the identification and accuracy of acupoint location in acupuncture research and clinical practice.…”