Transcontinental High-Tech Teleacupuncture Studies and Integrative Laser Medicine

Abstract

Background: Basic research on high-tech acupuncture has been successfully performed in Graz since 1997, using a broad spectrum of innovative biomedical engineering methods. This review discusses research in the field. Objective: One of the main goals of this review was to combine basic research on high-tech acupuncture with necessary further experimental and clinical pilot studies in China for the first time. Setting, Patients, and Intervention: Using electroacupuncture, needle, or laser stimulation, it is possible, for the first time, to quantify changes in biological activities caused by acupuncture. The patients were in China—but the analysis for the efficacy of acupuncture was performed by experts in Graz, Austria. This “transcontinental teleacupuncture” is a way that was realized by the Graz research team within its Sino–European projects. Main outcome: This research was aimed at successful transmission of acupuncture data from patients in China to the Medical University of Graz. Methods: Twenty-four hours of electrocardiographic (ECG) recordings from patients in China were collected, and data from these recordings were transferred directly after treatment to the Medical University of Graz. Results: The acupuncturists in China were informed about the results immediately based on the analysis protocol. Conclusions: Modernization of acupuncture is a contemporary issue. Creating a bridge between Eastern and Western medicine was successful, using modern biomedical engineering technology; the next task is to make these emerging possibilities and results useable for all involved persons.