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.