Possibility of quantifying TCM finger-reading sensations: II. An example of health standardization

Aim of this study: Through the use of a Bi-Sensing Pulse Diagnosis Instrument (BSPDI) to quantify the finger-reading skills and sensations of TCM physicians, this study was intended to determine whether a subject defined as healthy by Western medicine could be confirmed by the Three Positions and Nine Indicators Health Rule of Thumb (TPNI-HRT) regarding QI circulation. Materials and methods: According to the definitions of TCM, Zangfu possesses the spreading, escalating, descending, and reservation properties characteristic of whole-body QI circulation. These properties create the TPNI-HRT, which describes the sequential appearance of a pulse at the distal-middle-proximal (CUN-GUAN-CHI) positions in the wrist artery as the fingertip displacement moves from superficial (Fu) to deep (Chen). Results: A total of 50 male undergraduates (age 19.3 +/- 1.1 years) in the Taiwan Air Force Academy in excellent health demonstrated normal pulses according to cardiovascular kinetics. The BSPDI was used to mimic the TCM physicians' finger-reading skills, and the TPNI-HRT agreement ratio between the finger-reading sensations of TCM physicians and the BSPDI measurements was 94% (34:36 pulse appearances). Conclusions: Through the use of BSPDI to evaluate the holistic QI circulation, only 4% of the 50 patients in this study demonstrated both excellent health according to Western medicine standards and completely met the conditions of the TPNI-HRT. This result suggests that there should be consideration as to whether the TPNI-HRT should be included in standard health examinations as well as whether TCM researchers should adopt quantitative TCM methodologies rather than utilizing the quantitative tools of Western medicine. (c) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.