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A shot in the arm for TCM

By Huang Xiangyang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-01 17:32

In a major move to make traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) go global, Siemens yesterday said it has made substantial progress in turning the experience-based TCM into evidence-based medication.

A core team of Siemens China's Corporate Technology has developed what it believes is the world's first magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI-based system that directs practitioners to use a special acupuncture needle (acupotomy) in microsurgery, said Arding Hsu, head of Corporate Technology.

Acupotomy is a type of surgery that uses a small needle-scalpel invented by Professor Zhu Hanzhang three decades ago. The technique is used to treat chronic injuries, soft tissue disorders as well as abnormal bony growths that cause acute pain.

In China, about 100,000 practitioners are into acupotomy - which combines acupuncture and surgery, and requires an extraordinarily perceptive three-dimensional (3D) understanding of human anatomy.

But "they are doing it blindly", Hsu said. "It is not uncommon for blood vessels or nerves to be cut or damaged because of wrong judgment or lack of experience on the part of a practitioner."

The MRI-based system can provide dynamic 3D images of the targeted area to help a practitioner diagnose and work out a treatment plan. It makes the acupotomy surgery safer and more effective, said Hsu, who has overseen the Chinese-Western medicine fusion program since 2004.

Wei Shi, a senior research scientist, said the MRI-based system is a mature technology in Western medicine. "But it has never been used in TCM."

Hsu said he believes that with the help of Siemens technology and equipment, the national goal of making TCM "scientific, mainstream and international" can be achieved.

The technology is now ready for clinical trial before it gets the approval of the State Food and Drug Administration. It would take up to two years to enter the market.

But Hsu is confident about its market prospects. There are 2,700 recognized TCM hospitals and more than 16,000 general hospitals with their own TCM departments in China. They receive about 300 million visits each year, Hsu said. "Think about it."