Turning practice into progress
New solutions emerge where experience takes a closer look.
For asiamed, innovation begins where experience, research, and application meet. Acupuncture is based on a long tradition, but it continues to evolve through new questions arising from clinical practice, science, and medical technology.
This connection results in solutions that address specific requirements: a placebo needle that makes clinical research more comparable, or a special guide tube that supports the hygienic handling of longer acupuncture needles.
Making research comparable
The Streitberger needle:
Placebo technique for clinical acupuncture research
It is precisely this technical feature that makes its production demanding: the placebo needle must be manufactured with precision to be used in controlled studies. asiamed has been responsible for the production of this needle since 2000. It is used in the context of acupuncture research and is not a medical device.
The Streitberger placebo needle was developed as an essential instrument for the scientific study of acupuncture. Conceived by Dr. Konrad Streitberger and introduced in The Lancet in 1998, the needle enables a treatment scenario in which the needle visually and functionally resembles a real acupuncture needle without penetrating the skin.
The animation shows a comparison between a placebo needle and a conventional acupuncture needle: on the left, the positioning of the Streitberger placebo needle; in the middle, its application without skin penetration; on the right, a placed conventional acupuncture needle.
You can find more information about the placebo needle here:
- Streitberger K, Kleinhenz J.: Introducing a placebo needle into acupuncture research.
Lancet 352 (1998): 364-365 (PubMed ID: 9717924)
- McManus CA, Schnyer RN, Kaptchuk TJ, et al: Sham acupuncture devices – practical
advice for researchers. Acupuncture in Medicine 2007;25 (l-2): 36-40 (PubMed ID: 17641566)
Research meets application
Progress in acupuncture does not arise in opposition to tradition, but where experience, research, and technical precision work together.
Advancing application
Safe-T Sleeve™: specialized needle guidance for Clean Needle Technique
Safe-T Sleeve™ demonstrates how practical requirements can lead to a technical solution. The system was developed for situations where longer acupuncture needles need to be guided precisely and handled with hygiene in mind. A thin plastic sleeve remains over the needle shaft after the guide tube is removed, supporting further guidance of the needle.
In doing so, Safe-T Sleeve™ adopts the principles of the Clean Needle Technique, which is primarily established in Anglo-American countries. For asiamed, this development is a prime example of how practical experience is translated into concrete product innovation.
tewa CJ-Type Safe-T Sleeve
Coated, with Safe-T Sleeve guide tube, pack of 100 acupuncture needles
TeWa CJ-Type Safe-T Sleeve (s)
Uncoated, with Safe-T Sleeve guide tube, pack of 100 acupuncture needles
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