Sensor Measurement of Acupuncture Needle Manipulation

February 26, 2007 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Acupuncture Needling Torque Sensor

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a sensor system capable of measuring acupuncture needle manipulation and torque in a clinical setting.

Study hypothesis: Torque will be greater on the side of the back with musculoskeletal pain compared with the side without pain.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese practice that involves the use of specialized needles to stimulate parts of the body. The number of Americans who use acupuncture services continues to grow each year. Two elements required to deliver high-quality acupuncture treatment are identification of the appropriate acupuncture points and proper manipulation of the acupuncture needle. Despite a growing awareness of the importance of proper needle techniques, no tool capable of objectively measuring needle manipulation in a clinical setting has ever been developed. Such a tool would have applications in acupuncture research, teaching, and clinical practice.

This study will develop and test a simple hand-held sensor capable of making such objective needle torque measurements.

There are two parts to this study. In Part 1, researchers will develop the hand-held sensor (called the AcuSensor) that will be mounted to the handle of an acupuncture needle and will measure torque during manual needle manipulation.

In Part 2, the sensor will be tested for accuracy and reliability in three different groups. Group 1 will consist of patients with unilateral musculoskeletal back pain. Group 1 participants will undergo one session of acupuncture treatment while torque measurement and needle manipulation techniques are examined. In Group 2, practitioners and students at two leading acupuncture schools will use the AcuSensor during their teaching clinics. Teachers and students will complete a questionnaire to evaluate the sensor's usefulness. Experienced acupuncturists comprise Group 3; they will receive AcuSensor training and evaluate the performance of the AcuSensor in clinical practice. Information about the range and variability of torque measurements produced by different practitioners and techniques will be obtained from use of the sensor. Group 3 acupuncturists will also guess needle torque before and after training with the sensor turned off in order to determine the way AcuSensor training affects acupuncturists' sensory perception of needle grasp.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

30

Phase

  • Phase 1

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria for Group 1 Participants:

  • Asymmetric chronic musculoskeletal back pain

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: ECT
  • Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: NONE

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Feasibility of use of needle torque sensor in clinical practice, education, and research

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Helene M. Langevin, MD, University of Vermont

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Ellis A, Wiseman N and Boss K. Fundamentals of Chinese acupuncture (1991). Brookline: Paradigm Publications.
  • Johns R. (1996) The art of acupuncture techniques. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley CA.
  • Lytle CD. An overview of acupuncture. Center for Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993
  • Yang J (1601) The golden needle and other odes of traditional acupuncture (Transl. Bertschinger, R. 1991) Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2004

Study Completion

February 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 11, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 11, 2005

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

February 14, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

February 27, 2007

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 26, 2007

Last Verified

February 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01AT001121-01A1 (NIH)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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