Trends in the Development of Sham Acupuncture-Related Technologies Focused on Patents Applied for in South Korea

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to analyze the trends in Korean patents for sham acupuncture.Methods: The electronic database of the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service was searched for Korean patents for sham acupuncture from inception till September 2020. Patents, which were not related to sham acupuncture, were excluded. The applicant, application date, International Patent Classification, and technological content of sham acupuncture were analyzed.Results: This study included eight patents. Application analysis identified the following sham acupuncture types: four (50%), two (25%), and two (25%) patents were for non-penetrating sham acupuncture, electronic sham acupuncture, and patch sham acupuncture, respectively. All patents aimed to use sham acupuncture as a control for rigorous double-blind clinical trials to verify the efficacy of real acupuncture treatment.Conclusion: The present findings suggest that technological advances were focused on developing various types of sham acupuncture methods for double-blind studies. Further large-scale studies using rigorous designs are needed to investigate new sham acupuncture applications.