NCT01545960

Evaluating Acupuncture Points With Scanning Kelvin Probe

Scanning Kelvin Probe Measurements of Acupuncture Point

• Status: Suspended
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 24 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to characterize the surface electrical potential of acupuncture points with a Scanning Kelvin Probe.

Detailed description

Acupuncture points are anatomical structures described by traditional Chinese medicine. To this day, however, their scientific and Western anatomical characterizations remain unclear. Past studies have suggested that acupuncture points are distinct electrically (increased electrical conductivity). To evaluate this claim, this study uses a Scanning Kelvin Probe to study the electrical potential of three acupuncture points and their respective adjacent controls in 24 healthy individuals. The Scanning Kelvin Probe is a novel device that measures the electrical potential of skin without actually touching the skin surface.

Conditions

• Healthy Individuals
• Acupuncture Points
• Electrical Potential

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	not applicable in this study	No actual interventions will be administered for this study.

Timeline

• Start date: 2011-08-01
• Primary completion: 2012-08-01
• Completion: 2012-08-01
• First posted: 2012-03-07
• Last updated: 2012-03-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States