I must say sorry for disturbing you.
Is there somebody interested in quantitative analysis of traditional Chinese
pulse diagnosis?


One of my paper reviewed the researches of this topic. (Xu, L.S., K.Q. Wang,
and D. Zhang, ¡°Modern Researches on Traditional Chinese Pulse Diagnosis,¡±
European Journal of Oriental Medicine, vol.4, no.5, pp. 46-54, 2004.)
Modern Research on Traditional Chinese Pulse Diagnosis

Lisheng Xu, Kuanquan Wang, David Zhang

The following is the Abstract and Introduction. If someone find the error in
this paper, please notify me. Any of your advice and question is welcome and
appreciated.

Abstract
This paper presents modern research on Traditional Chinese Pulse Diagnosis
(TCPD). In order to demystify TCPD and prove its efficiency, some
fundamental knowledge such as concepts, significance, diagnosis methods and
standard pulse patterns are outlined at the outset. Then we review modern
research on TCPD mainly from four aspects: objectifying TCPD, analysis of
pulse waveform, the mechanism of pulse formation, clinical observations and
comparisons of pulses. For each of these aspects, general background
information and brief explanations are given. In particular, it is very
important to distinguish the pulse images based on traditional Chinese
medicine and those derived from the sphygmogram based on western medicine.
As an example, our pulse acquisition system is presented. Furthermore,
typical pulse waveforms in our pulse database and their results as processed
by modern signal processing methods are demonstrated. Finally, the potential
and the problems facing modern research into TCPD are pointed out.

Keywords
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); Traditional Chinese Pulse Diagnosis
(TCPD); pulse image; sphygmogram.

Introduction
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) encompasses everything that has been
proved to be worthwhile and clinically valid over the past 2,000 years.
Traditional Chinese Pulse Diagnosis (TCPD) is the most distinctive of the
four diagnostic methods used in TCM. Now, more and more people in western
countries have acknowledged TCPD. For example, Leon Hammer, a clinician and
teacher, has taught pulse diagnosis worldwide over the last decade; pulse
diagnosis forums such as the pulse diagnosis group on Yahoo have mushroomed
recently (Hammer, 2001; Website1). However, due to the difficulty of
mastering pulse diagnosis, many people still view it as a mystery. Many
classic books on TCPD were translated into English and introduced into
Europe and other countries, but articles which introduce recent research on
TCPD are few (Lu, 1996; Flaws, 1995; Li, 1985; Amber, 1993). Therefore, it
is very necessary to introduce TCPD and to let more and more people
understand it. Additionally, modern research on TCPD will bridge the gap
between western medicine and TCM (Richard, 1990).

Many successes have been achieved in research on TCPD recently. In the past
few years, advances in medical sensors, mathematics, mechanics, signal
processing, pattern recognition, and computer technologies have promoted
modern research on pulse diagnosis from many directions, ranging from
objectifying pulse diagnosis, analysis and classification of pulse waveform,
to the analysis of pulse mechanism and the clinical application of TCPD (Fu
and Niu, 1993; Zhao, 1999; Huang and Sun, 1995; Fei, 1991; Shi, 1992). The
internet makes remote pulse diagnosis possible and feasible. The
applications of many kinds of apparatus that can quantify and record
patients' pulses further demonstrate the significance of TCPD, but there are
still some unsolved problems due to the complexity and variation of pulses
(Tokinori, 1998).

This paper aims to review the modern research on TCPD. The next section,
headed 'Traditional Chinese Pulse Diagnosis' presents the background to
TCPD. Then recent research developments in TCPD are presented in the section
headed 'Modern Research on TCPD', and our pulse reading system is given as
an example. Furthermore, experimental results achieved from some modern
signal processing methods are also shown in this section. The section headed
'Conclusion' points out future tasks, focuses and limitations of modern
research on TCPD.