Sino-Austrian High-Tech Acupuncture Network: Annual Report 2017

The Sino-Austrian High-Tech Acupuncture Research Network was founded in 2005 and has been growing ever since. The network comprises many partners from China and is highly involved in research and education activities. This report introduces the network’s activities in the year 2017.

Acupuncture is one of the key disciplines of research of this renowned university. The Medical University of Graz (Professor Gerhard Litscher)   Established in 1958, the Hubei University of Chinese Medicine has three secondary schools, four affiliated hospitals, four State-Level (highest level) Medical Research Centers, and 10 Research Institutions. The university occupies 0.65 km 2 with a total construction of about 470,000 m 2 . The university has 15 departments, 17 specialties for the bachelor's degree and 9 specialties for professional training, 19 specialties for the master's degree and 12 specialties for the doctor degree, and more than 60 bases for clinical practice, including 6 affiliated hospitals, and 21 State-Level, Province-Level, or College-Level laboratories for teaching. At present, the university has about 15,000 students.
Acupuncture is one of the key disciplines of research of this renowned university.                From acupuncture to the many hundreds of different medical herbs: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is booming. In addition, it is effective: TCM has been practised successfully for more than 4000 years, and the Western demand for something to complement classical Western medicine has been increasing for years. Graz is going to play a central role in TCM research: the "TCM Research Center Graz" was founded in early March 2007 by Karl-Franzens-University Graz and the Medical University Graz, and subsequently became a competence center that is unique worldwide.
Dealing with acupuncture and Chinese medical herbs has a long tradition in Graz: Professor Rudolf Bauer, Head of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Karl-Franzens-University, has been researching the active pharmaceutical ingredients and quality of Chinese medicinal herbs now for 26 years. Professor Gerhard Litscher, Head of the Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the Medical University of Graz, has dedicated himself to the research of acupuncture using the latest high-tech methods for 20 years. For both, scientific work is the basis for the modernization of TCM: "TCM is a kind of medicine that can be evaluated scientifically", says Rudolf Bauer, "it possesses comprehensible diagnostic methods and uses precise and controllable therapies". So, all research work is done based on scientific methods. Gerhard Litscher: "We are interested in basic research and those aspects of TCM that have not been given much attention so far; for example, the quantification of new acupuncture techniques, such as the painless laser needle acupuncture and electro acupuncture. Possible effects of acupuncture in combination with other methods are also subject to scientific research".
A scientific report summarizes some of the research activities within the last 10 years and the chairmen of the center would like to use the opportunity to thank everyone for their generous support of the TCM Research Center Graz.  From acupuncture to the many hundreds of different medical herbs: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is booming. In addition, it is effective: TCM has been practised successfully for more than 4000 years, and the Western demand for something to complement classical Western medicine has been increasing for years. Graz is going to play a central role in TCM research: the "TCM Research Center Graz" was founded in early March 2007 by Karl-Franzens-University Graz and the Medical University Graz, and subsequently became a competence center that is unique worldwide.
Dealing with acupuncture and Chinese medical herbs has a long tradition in Graz: Professor Rudolf Bauer, Head of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Karl-Franzens-University, has been researching the active pharmaceutical ingredients and quality of Chinese medicinal herbs now for 26 years. Professor Gerhard Litscher, Head of the Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the Medical University of Graz, has dedicated himself to the research of acupuncture using the latest high-tech methods for 20 years. For both, scientific work is the basis for the modernization of TCM: "TCM is a kind of medicine that can be evaluated scientifically", says Rudolf Bauer, "it possesses comprehensible diagnostic methods and uses precise and controllable therapies". So, all research work is done based on scientific methods. Gerhard Litscher: "We are interested in basic research and those aspects of TCM that have not been given much attention so far; for example, the quantification of new acupuncture techniques, such as the painless laser needle acupuncture and electro acupuncture. Possible effects of acupuncture in combination with other methods are also subject to scientific research".
A scientific report summarizes some of the research activities within the last 10 years and the chairmen of the center would like to use the opportunity to thank everyone for their generous support of the TCM Research Center Graz. From acupuncture to the many hundreds of different medical herbs: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is booming. In addition, it is effective: TCM has been practised successfully for more than 4000 years, and the Western demand for something to complement classical Western medicine has been increasing for years. Graz is going to play a central role in TCM research: the "TCM Research Center Graz" was founded in early March 2007 by Karl-Franzens-University Graz and the Medical University Graz, and subsequently became a competence center that is unique worldwide.
Dealing with acupuncture and Chinese medical herbs has a long tradition in Graz: Professor Rudolf Bauer, Head of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Karl-Franzens-University, has been researching the active pharmaceutical ingredients and quality of Chinese medicinal herbs now for 26 years. Professor Gerhard Litscher, Head of the Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the Medical University of Graz, has dedicated himself to the research of acupuncture using the latest high-tech methods for 20 years. For both, scientific work is the basis for the modernization of TCM: "TCM is a kind of medicine that can be evaluated scientifically", says Rudolf Bauer, "it possesses comprehensible diagnostic methods and uses precise and controllable therapies". So, all research work is done based on scientific methods. Gerhard Litscher: "We are interested in basic research and those aspects of TCM that have not been given much attention so far; for example, the quantification of new acupuncture techniques, such as the painless laser needle acupuncture and electro acupuncture. Possible effects of acupuncture in combination with other methods are also subject to scientific research".
A scientific report summarizes some of the research activities within the last 10 years and the chairmen of the center would like to use the opportunity to thank everyone for their generous support of the TCM Research Center Graz. 10-12 August 2017: 9th International Symposium on Auriculotherapy, Singapore, Republic of Singapore. Report published in Medicines [12]. 10-12 August 2017: 9th International Symposium on Auriculotherapy, Singapore, Republic of Singapore. Report published in Medicines [12].   Professor Gerhard Litscher, Chairman of the two World Congresses, Sheraton Hotel, Xi'an, China, 400 participants at 4 congresses (opening ceremony), 110 participants at HTA&IM (57 speakers from 12 countries). Report published in Medicines [11].