MRATTS: An MR-Based Acupoint Therapy Training System with Real-Time Acupoint Detection and Evaluation Standards
2026-03-24 • Human-Computer Interaction
Human-Computer InteractionMultimedia
AI summaryⓘ
The authors created a mixed reality (MR) teaching system called MRATTS to help people learn acupuncture and moxibustion, key techniques in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This system can accurately detect and show acupoints on a real person's body in real time, allowing users to practice different therapy methods with visual guidance. They also developed evaluation standards that score how well users perform each step. Tests showed that people using MRATTS improved their understanding of acupoint locations and therapy skills more than those who did not.
Mixed RealityAcupointTraditional Chinese MedicineAcupunctureMoxibustionAcupressureVisual GuidanceReal-time DetectionTherapy TrainingEvaluation Standards
Authors
Jiacheng Liu, Bohan Chen, Qian Wang, Weichao Song, Fangfei Ye, Liang Zhou, Haibin Ling, Bingyao Huang
Abstract
Acupoint therapy is a core therapeutic method of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and it requires a high level of expertise and skills to detect acupoints and perform acupuncture and moxibustion. Existing mixed reality (MR)-based training methods often fall short in accurate real-time detection and visualization of acupoints on the hand, limb, or torso of a real person and do not support various techniques of acupuncture and moxibustion. Moreover, evaluation standards and visual guidance with fine details for each step during MR-based training are typically missing. To this end, we propose the MR-based TCM Acupoint Therapy Teaching System (MRATTS)--an MR-based acupoint therapy teaching and training framework. MRATTS is based on a real-time hand, limb, and torso acupoint detection method to accurately track and visualize acupoints on real patients through MR. On top of that, in collaboration with an experienced acupoint therapist, we design a practice method with interactive visual guidance for various acupoint therapy techniques that simulate acupressure, acupuncture (insertion, lifting-thrusting, and twisting), and moxibustion (mild, sparrow-pecking, and whirling). A set of TCM theory-based evaluation standards is formulated within MRATTS to enable the scoring and visualization of the accuracy and proficiency of acupoint therapy. The effectiveness and usefulness of MRATTS are evaluated through a controlled user study and expert feedback. Results of the study indicate that the MRATTS group shows clear improvements in understanding 3D locations of acupoints and proficiency in acupoint therapy compared to control groups.