Possibility of quantifying TCM finger-reading sensations: II. An example of health standardization

Abstract

Aim of this studyThrough the use of a Bi-Sensing Pulse Diagnosis Instrument (BSPDI) to quantify the finger-reading skills and sensations of TCM physicians, this study was intended to determine whether a subject defined as healthy by Western medicine could be confirmed by the Three Positions and Nine Indicators Health Rule of Thumb (TPNI-HRT) regarding QI circulation. Materials and methodsAccording to the definitions of TCM, Zangfu possesses the spreading, escalating, descending, and reservation properties characteristic of whole-body QI circulation. These properties create the TPNI-HRT, which describes the sequential appearance of a pulse at the distal-middle-proximal (CUN-GUAN-CHI) positions in the wrist artery as the fingertip displacement moves from superficial (Fu) to deep (Chen). ResultsA total of 50 male undergraduates (age 19.3±1.1years) in the Taiwan Air Force Academy in excellent health demonstrated normal pulses according to cardiovascular kinetics. The BSPDI was used to mimic the TCM physicians’ finger-reading skills, and the TPNI-HRT agreement ratio between the finger-reading sensations of TCM physicians and the BSPDI measurements was 94% (34:36 pulse appearances). ConclusionsThrough the use of BSPDI to evaluate the holistic QI circulation, only 4% of the 50 patients in this study demonstrated both excellent health according to Western medicine standards and completely met the conditions of the TPNI-HRT. This result suggests that there should be consideration as to whether the TPNI-HRT should be included in standard health examinations as well as whether TCM researchers should adopt quantitative TCM methodologies rather than utilizing the quantitative tools of Western medicine.