High-tech acupuncture made in Austria--cerebral circulation.

It is little known that Austria has tradition in research in Chinese integrative medicine, especially traditional Chinese medicine. For more than 15 years, the research concerning high-tech acupuncture has been playing an important role at the Medical University of Graz, Austria. Within this review article, a short summary concerning high-tech acupuncture and cerebral circulation, and transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography is presented. TCD has been extensively used in various basic and clinical situations, and in the last decade has established its role also as a tool of investigating the effects of various acupuncture methods. Based on the Doppler principle, it uses ultrasound waves to insonate the blood vessels supplying the brain and to obtain stimulation-induced changes of hemodynamic information. The purpose of this review is to present the basic concepts of TCD technique in relation to acupuncture research, and the specific effects on cerebral hemodynamics caused by acupuncture stimulation.