History of Graphing

      Traditional Chinese acupuncture has a history of at least 5,000 years. The theoretical construct of this form of health care rests on the idea that a universal energy form, known as chi (pronounced "chee") flows in specific channels throughout the body. These channels are known as acupuncture meridians. There are 12 main paired meridians in the body; "paired" refers to the fact that each meridian is mirrored on opposite sides of the body. The 12 main meridians are named for organs or organ systems, though their energy flow does not necessarily directly affect the organs after which the meridians are named. According to acupuncture theory, all ill health, disease, pathology, etc. are caused by energetic imbalances among these 12 meridians, causing excesses or deficiencies of energy in specific channels.

      In the early 1950's Dr. Yoshio Nakatani noted areas of altered electrical conductivity on the skin of patients with various diseases. These areas were found to be points of approximately 1cm diameter, generally in lines following the classical Chinese acupuncture meridians. Because these points offered increased electrical conductance, he named these points, "ryodoraku" (ryo=good, 'do=(electro) conductive, 'raku=line.)

      Dr. Nakatani refined his procedures to encompass both diagnosis and treatment. Diagnosis was performed with an electrical instrument measuring electrical conductivity of the skin. By measuring the conductivity of each meridian, energetic excesses and deficiencies could be located. Treatment consisted of stimulating specific acupuncture points to either "tonify" a deficient meridian, or "sedate" an excessive meridian. An additional set of acupuncture points is used to balance meridians that show significant energetic differences between the right and left sides of the body.

      Since Dr. Nakatani's original work, a variety of research studies have sought to further the body of knowledge about Ryodoraku diagnosis and treatment and the electrical characteristics of the acupuncture meridians. The results show beyond doubt that the acupuncture meridians are electrically active. Increased conductance and propagation along acupuncture meridians has been measured, and noted to change with acupuncture needle insertion and duration of illness. Further, the meridians have been shown to also conduct light, and produce visible energy signatures on Kirlian photography. Acupuncture points also differ thermally from surrounding skin.

      Because Ryodoraku diagnosis consists of measuring skin resistance, much research has focused on the reliability of these measurements. Results have shown that typical skin resistance varies between 500 ohms and 9 megohms, and that acupuncture points and entire meridians can be readily located within 5 mm by measuring skin resistance, which will vary by a factor of 2x-6x from surrounding skin. These measurements have been shown to be reliable across a variety of measurement voltages and procedures.

     For many years, these types of examinations were performed clinically with analog “meter” equipment and pen and paper for drawing the resulting graph. This method, though time consuming and cumbersome, was often very effective. Later methods allowed the readings to be manually typed into software programs for basic analysis.

     Due to the limitations of then-existing systems and the significant need for an automated measurement system, Miridia Technology Inc. developed AcuGraph Digital Meridian Imaging to apply the power of modern computer analysis to this time-honored method. The result is Ryodoraku analysis that is faster, easier, and more powerful than ever before.

     Miridia Technology Inc. invented and developed the first digital computer measurement interface in 2002, which was received with great acclaim by the eager profession. With continual research, development, and refinement, we remain at the forefront of this growing market as we produce better, more powerful, and more complete systems than ever before.