Basic science plays an important role in acupuncture research. This importance is often underestimated. The study of the mechanisms and effects of acupuncture and related fields is currently progressing in an extremely fast manner. What are the next steps in acupuncture research? What are researchers doing in the field of high-technology acupuncture? Computer-controlled acupuncture? Acupuncture by a robot? Is this in the future? By no means.
For example, a Chinese student from Jiangsu Province in Nanjing has developed a robot that he says can perform acupuncture. The student, Tiancheng Xu, PhD(cand), at Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says this robotic acupuncture can be used to treat several illnesses, such as insomnia, abdominal pain, and muscle fatigue. “My father is an acupuncturist, and I noticed in his clinic that the most diligent acupuncturist can only treat about 100 patients a day,” he says.
Mr. Xu says:
Robots can free practitioners from exhaustive, repetitive labor so they can focus on designing better treatment plans. … For example, one frequently used acupoint is the Hegu (LI 4), between the first and second dorsal metacarpal bones. To be exact, it is in the midpoint of the radial part of the second metacarpal bone, regardless of different body shapes. We only need to set up an accurate model for the robots to find the right acupoints.
Mr. Xu also states that his robot can measure a person's subcutaneous fat before calculating where and how deep the needle should be inserted. There are also ultrasonic sensors on his “robotic hands” to prevent the needle from being applied too deeply. Using different sensors, the robot can also calculate the muscle tension to avoid excessive pain for the patient. For simulation purposes, several thousand acupuncture treatments were also designed for the robot. Mr. Xu admits that, for the time being, the robot should not be used on important parts of the body such as head, neck, and other sensitive areas. “More experiments are needed before the robot can be used clinically,” he says, adding “that several companies are already interested in collaboration.”1
Looking more closely at reports on medical robotics, there are certainly applications in the field of acupuncture. For example, in the humor section of Science-Based Medicine, Clay Jones, MD, reports that, in a patient suffering from a fatigue syndrome, an acupuncturist and an acupuncture anesthetist performed robotic acupuncture.2
It is interesting, Dr. Jones states, that one of the greatest strengths of acupuncture—the direct connection between the doctor and the acupuncture needle—is also one of the major weaknesses.2 In the meantime, Western medicine surgeons use robotic technology to perform an increasing number of minimally invasive procedures.
According to Dr. Jones, the healing art of acupuncture is deeply rooted in ancient Eastern culture, but the modern technology that is now being used to expand it comes from Western medicine.2 He says that state-of-the-art medical robotic technologies feature high-resolution 3-dimensional magnification systems and instruments that can maneuver with far greater precision than the human wrist and fingers. This allows specially trained acupuncturists to locate successfully and control access to hard-to-reach acupuncture points (those next to the eye or in the genital area). This could expand the number of indications suitable for acupuncture.
However, robot-assisted acupuncture is not the only high-technology therapeutic option in the field of complementary medicine. Other methods have been incorporating modern technology into their protocols for years. Chiropractors—practitioners who treat a variety of musculoskeletal disorders—for example, adopted the latest high-technology electronics devices quickly. This happens, for example, to facilitate the localization of subluxations in the spine. Once a safe diagnosis is made, it can be treated using traditional hands-on techniques. Many experts now master the combination of manual and technology-based treatments.
Dr. Fishman, a so-called pioneer in robot-assisted, minimally invasive acupuncture in Dr. Jones' satirical article, is already looking to the future. He imagines a day when even this groundbreaking technology is considered old-fashioned. “As science progresses and we continue to scale down robot technology and improve treatment algorithms, the physical act of acupuncture will be taken completely out of the hands of the practitioner. The human mind will be set free, allowing full mental focus on diagnosis.”2 Thus, the acupuncturist can focus his or her full mental focus on developing specific prevention, diagnostic, and diagnostic tools and therapy regimens.2
Twenty-two years ago, when our Graz research team at the Medical University of Graz, in 1997, showed that acupuncture also works in the electronics laboratory without the aid of an acupuncturist, and when we introduced the term computer-controlled acupuncture,3 we did not use the term meaning that the computer replaces the acupuncturist; we rather understood the quantification of measurable effects of acupuncture. Meanwhile, the vision with robotically assisted acupuncture seems to have become a reality in 2019.4–6
References
- 1. Cang W. TCM student creates an acupuncture robot. China Daily. Online document at: www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-11/03/content_34054992.htm Accessed March11, 2017
- 2. Jones C. Science-based satire: Robotically-assisted acupuncture brings ancient healing technique into the 21th century. Science-Based Medicine. July 15, 2016. Online document at: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/robotically-assisted-acupuncture-brings-ancient-healing-technique-into-the-21st-century/ Accessed May25, 2019.
- 3. Litscher G, ZH Cho. Computer-Controlled Acupuncture. Lengerich, Germany: Pabst Science Publishers; 2000 [Google Scholar]
- 4. Litscher G, Schwarz G, Sandner-Kiesling A. Computer-controlled acupuncture. AKU. 1998;26(3):133–42 [Google Scholar]
- 5. Litscher G, Schwarz G, Sandner-Kiesling A, Hadolt I. Transcranial Doppler sonography—robotic-controlled sensors for quantification of effects of acupuncture. Deutsche Zeitschr Akupunkt. 1998;3(41):63–70. [Google Scholar]
- 6. Litscher G. Robot-assisted acupuncture—a technology for the 21st century? Acupunct Auricular Med. 2017;4:9–10 [Google Scholar]