Minimisation of variations in locating an acupuncture point using a laser-device

BACKGROUND: Identifying accurate acupoint is an essential component in clinical practice. A laser device can provide us with a visual guide for locating acupoints by dividing the space equally between two landmarks on the body. In this study, we compared the accuracy between the naked-eye and a laser device to locate an acupoint. METHODS: Twenty-two participants were asked to mark acupoint PC5 on a male volunteer’s arm using two different methods: without a laser device (naked-eye) and with a laser device. The distributions of the acupoints were estimated by the kernel density estimation methods. RESULTS: The overall distribution of acupoints was less when the laser device method was used, compared to the naked-eye method. We found significant differences in the longitudinal axis between the two methods, but no significant differences in the horizontal axis. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that direct measurement of the acupoint location using a laser device can reduce variations in locating points. Laser-assisted tools will help practitioners locate the acupoints more accurately and should be considered as standard practice, especially in acupuncture research and education.