The Impedance Profile of Acupuncture Points

Abstract

Background Reduced impedance at acupuncture points (acupoints) is a well-known phenomenon; and the impedance has been found to reduce further in relation to organ stress. The author hypothesises that any changes to an organ’s state or function are communicated to its related acupoints in real time. As part of a research project to demonstrate this communication, the impedance of several acupoints was studied in real time. Methods The acupoints were located electrically, and a 40 kHz signal was used to sample the impedances. Samples were taken at each acupoint and also at a 6 mm radius. The sample rate was 1 kHz and the session lasted for 5 minutes. The results presented here were taken from a single patient. Results The impedance at an acupoint’s centre frequently changed in an inverse relationship to the impedance at a 6 mm radius (i.e. when one goes up, the other goes down) and the left and right instance of the same acupoint usually displayed different impedance features. Conclusions When studying the fine detail of real-time impedance samples taken from the centre of an acupoint and also from a 6 mm radius, this previously unreported contrary-motion phenomenon provides a useful tool to differentiate between artefact and genuine organ-related features in an impedance trace.

Keywords

• acupoints
• acupuncture
• communication
• impedance