3.2 Future work

appreciation of the obstacles faced. Modern medicine is closely integrated with modern science; modern medicine keeps pace with the development of sciencebased technology, and new technology is used to develop new products and treatments to improve patient care. However, the majority of Chinese medicine practitioners do not pay attention to new technology. Many researchers have continued to work hard to improve this dilemma [27–29], while more Chinese medicine peers are still needed to join in the modernization. The ASM21 model developed in this study can be further improved to incorporate ultrasound techniques by collaborating with medical engineering manufacturers, which might create a new path for the

Acupuncture - Resolving Old Controversies and Pointing New Pathways

development of technology for use in the application of Chinese medicine.

ratings for the course, indicating that the course design was successful.

In conclusion, a course design for acupuncture training needs to include practice using a simulator, which can greatly enhance the interest and motivation of the trainees. In the interviews, several trainees suggested that acupuncture clinical instructors should receive UDA training, which showed that they were not satisfied with the conventional educational approach. Some trainees also had different opinions to those of the lecturers for the classes, suggesting that the new generation no longer fully accepts the arrangements of traditional education. In order to achieve the goal of a high level of education, it is necessary to implement more communication between teachers and students in the current medical education setting.

UDA, by introducing ultrasound into acupuncture practice, will be a revolution technique for traditional acupuncture. UDA can not only reduce the risk of severe advertise effect when needing dangerous points, but also increase the usage of some important points traditionally, such as GB21 and BL43. We proposed the standard operating procedure for UDA and developed a course for UDA training. A video demonstration could be found at the web www.Dr-Hou.com. We truly hope that UDA would be widely accepted and performed popularly everywhere in

was also a limitation.

3. Conclusion

acupuncture practice.

3.1 UDA

60

The outcomes of our study show promise. However, there were some limitations. First, this study was an educational study conducted in a single group, i.e., hospital residents, and was not a randomized controlled trial. The small sample size

However, by using qualitative and quantitative analyses to validate the efficacy, the results are still valuable, and can be taken as a useful reference for developing similar courses. The significant improvement in score after the trainees had attended the course indicated a well-designed course, which can help to reduce the risk of pneumothorax, a complication of acupuncture at difficult chest acupoints. Both the attendance rate and practice of the ultrasound technique were independent of the reduction in the incidence of pneumothorax, suggesting that the use of ultrasound is key to reducing the incidence of this complication. As the operation of the ultrasound instrument is simple, no special repeat practice is required, which is a significant advantage of UDA that should be promoted in the future. The trainees only need to learn to measure the safe depth of the needle, rather than being familiar with diagnostic sonography. Based on the outcomes and the feedback obtained from the trainees, the course could be shortened by focusing on the operation of the ultrasound instrument and practice using the simulator. In terms of satisfaction, the post-test interviews demonstrated that the trainees gave the highest

In order to prompt UDA further, a specific and affordable ultrasound devise is urgent needed. All the ultrasound devises available are too complicated and expensive for acupuncturists. We are currently in cooperation with medical engineers to develop a UDA special ultrasound. This ultrasound devise for safety depth (USD) will be a handy and useful devise specially designed to measure the safe needling distance of dangerous points. We believe that only by introducing and developing new ideas and practices can renew and update acupuncture. Thus an energetic and a fresh acupuncture can be presented to the world.
