ArticleBiomedical journal2021
Comparison of physical electrical conductivity and acupuncture de-qi sensation between stainless steel needling and supercritical fluid-treated needling.
Article in Biomedical journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Electroacupuncture and P2X receptors: purinergic mechanisms in pain modulation : A narrative review with structured evidence mapping.Purinergic signalling · 2026Review
- Photoacoustic imaging of acupoint specificity and meridian transmission at Shousanli (LI10): a blood oxygen metabolism study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Skin-Brain Axis: neural pathways in acupuncture treatment.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
- The best protection is early detection: Fostering timely and accurate screening.Biomedical journal · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile acupuncture has been used for thousands of years, modern technology to develop new needle materials has rarely been discussed. We aim to explore a new acupuncture needle material and compare the differences in the needling sensations between the acupuncture needle surface treated with nitrogen applied supercritical fluid (SCF-N) and conventional stainless steel needles.
methodsThis was a double-blind cohort study. The acupuncture needles were randomly used in this experiment, including the SCF-N-treated needles and the control stainless steel needles. LI 4 (Hegu) and LI 11 (Quchi) acupuncture points in the Yangming Large Intestine Meridian of Hand were treated. Physical electrical resistance, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, and visual analog scale (VAS) score including the sensations of soreness, numbness, distention, and heaviness were assessed.
resultsThe proportion of nitrogen (N) was significantly higher in the SCF-N-treated needles than in the stainless steel needles group (2.3 ± 0.2% vs 0.0 ± 0.0%, P < 0.01). The cumulative de-qi sensation score at the LI 4 Hegu acupoint (1.87 ± 1.88 vs 1.54 ± 1.62, P = 0.014), especially the sensation of soreness score (2.76 ± 2.06 vs 2.13 ± 1.85, P = 0.045), revealed statistically significant differences between both groups. SCF-N surface treatment of acupuncture needles may lower the electrical resistance more than the control stainless steel needles (24.67 ± 0.88 kW vs 26.45 ± 0.75 kW, p < 0.01).
conclusionAcupuncture needles modified with SCF-N surface treatment can enhance de-qi sensations to improve electrical conductivity of the meridian and therapeutic effects on the Yangming Large Intestine Meridian of Hand. SCF-N surface treated needles can be as a new acupuncture needle material in the future.
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