Electrical Characterization of Acupuncture Points: Technical Issues and Challenges

Acupuncture points are frequently described as having distinct electrical properties. These properties include increased conductance, reduced impedance and resistance, increased capacitance, and elevated electrical potential compared to adjacent nonacupuncture points. Commercial electrodiagnostic devices have used this assertion as a means to localize and analyze acupuncture points for diagnostic purposes. Yet, the electrical characterization of acupuncture points is associated with important technical issues that are often overlooked. Electrode polarizability, stratum corneum impedance, presence of sweat glands, choice of contact medium, electrode geometry, and other factors contribute to the final electrodermal reading and may cause doubts about the validity of available electrodiagnostic devices. The goal of this review is to help researchers and clinicians understand these factors affecting electrodermal readings, to make apparent the difficulties and challenges confronting electrodermal readings, and to increase understanding about how these possible associations can be interpreted and understood from the perspective of biology.