New method makes the effects of acupuncture measurable
The needling of acupuncture points allows the blood to flow faster in the brain and increases tissue perfusion and oxygen supply, according to a study by the research group GerhardLitscher, Gerhard Schwarz and Andreas Sandner-Kiesling at the Graz University Clinic for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine. One developed by the scientists Measuring method makes it possible that the effects of the acupuncture treatment can no longer only be judged subjectively by the patient, but can be measured objectively. The three scientists are convinced that this will enable better control of the acupuncture therapy and increase the acceptance of the procedure. On Friday, Litscher, Schwarz and Sandner-Kiesling will be awarded the Alfred Pischinger Science Prize at the Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Spital in Vienna. Pischinger is the Austrian founder of histochemistry (part of tissue research).
In the field of neurophysiological monitoring procedures, ultrasound diagnostics and monitoring have become firmly established. With the help of transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) and technical extensions of this method using robot-controlled probes, the research team has succeeded in measuring the change in oxygen supply in the brain caused by acupuncture. Robot-controlled probes, which are integrated into a helmet-like device for the patient, "scan" the interior of the skull in eight different planes. You can take measurements at different brain depths simultaneously and generate a three-dimensional image of the cerebral vessels in less than a minute.
Measurements on the cerebral vessels during a special acupuncture treatment on he althy test subjects revealed a significant increase in the mean flow rate of the blood. Significantly higher values were also measured in the control phase after the acupuncture. The effects of stimulating selected acupuncture points on the autonomic nervous system become evident and can be recorded acoustically, visually and numerically.
