Using the finger cun of acupuncture-point location as benchmark to estimate body dimensions

Abstract

Anthropometric data are the foundation of ergonomic design for various products and environments. However, the procedures for collecting anthropometric data are complicated and costly in terms of resources such as workforce, time, and money. According to previous studies, most practitioners do not know how old anthropometric data may be converted into applicable new data when updated data are unavailable. Therefore, it is a significant undertaking to develop methods that can easily convert old data into new data while minimizing the errors. To solve the limitations of current body-dimension estimation methods, this study proposed combining body proportions and regression methods with finger cun (F-cun; “cun” is pronounced tsuen), or width of the patient's finger taken as a unit of measurement. The F-cun of the acupuncture-point location of traditional Chinese medicine was used to establish middle finger cun-derived, thumb cun-derived, and fingerbreadth cun-derived benchmarks and a thumb cun-derived stepwise regression equation for stature (a representative of large length); hand length (a representative of small length); and hand circumference, including thumb (a representative of circumference). This study used measurements from a group of 30 subjects to derive 12 F-cun-derived benchmarks and 3 thumb cun-derived stepwise regression equations and then measurements from a separate group of 12 subjects were used to verify these benchmarks and stepwise regression equations. Consequently, 12 F-cun-derived benchmarks that were least affected by gender and age were identified and 3 thumb cun-derived stepwise regression equations could be constructed to estimate stature, hand length, and hand circumference, including thumb. The thumb cun-derived stepwise regression equation is the best method when estimating the three kinds of body dimensions.