title: Biomedical Teleacupuncture between China and Austria Using Heart Rate Variability, Part 1: Poststroke Patients.
abstract: Background. Acupuncture has been reported to affect the human autonomic system. Within this pilot study, teleacupuncture between China and Austria is used for the first time for quantifying the effects of heart rate variability (HRV) in poststroke rehabilitation. Methods. In 29 Chinese post-stroke patients (15 f, 14 m; mean age ± SD 64.7 ± 11.3 years; range 40-80 years) electrocardiographic signals before, during, and after acupuncture at the acupoint Tongli (HT 5) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture via internet. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain, and a protocol from Austria was sent to the team in China immediately after the treatment and recording session. Results. Acupuncture does not change heart rate in the post-stroke patients; however, total HRV increased significantly (P < .05) during and 5-10 minutes after acupuncture. In addition, balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity (low frequency/high frequency HRV ratio) changes markedly during treatment. Conclusions. Based on innovative HRV analysis, it could be demonstrated that teleacupuncture between China/Harbin and Austria/Graz over a distance of about 8,500 km is no longer a future vision; it has become reality.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, TCM Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valentini
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Guangyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Haoming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gaischek
authors.forename: Haixue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Litscher