New treatment shakes up medicine

The Taipei Medical University (TMU) showcased yesterday a new take on traditional Chinese medicine that can heal various kinds of diseases without requiring patients to pop pills or have injections.

Dubbed "energetic medicine," the new treatment is mainly divided into sound energy, light energy and electricity, said Mao Ching-jan (毛井然), director of the Universal Medical Technology & Instruments Corp, at a press conference.

According to Mao, energetic medicine is an effective alternative treatment for pain and chronic diseases such as gout, rheumatic arthritis, hepatitis, asthma, incontinence and Parkinson's disease.

"Energetic medicine is closely associated with traditional Chinese therapies such as acupuncture, massage, finger-pressing and qigong," Mao said.

Energetic medicine employs ultrasonic waves, infrared, ultraviolet and laser and bioelectricity to expand the limitations of traditional Chinese therapies, Mao said.

Mao exhibited several sets of such facilities and demonstrated how the treatments are applied during the process of traditional Chinese therapy.

"According to our clinical experiences over the past three years, 92 percent of the diseases treated by energetic medicine have been healed," Mao said.

Energetic medicine applies the effects of sound, light and electricity to the parts where patients' diseases are located, according to Mao.

"The causes of sickness around the body will be broken into small pieces by the effects of the energies and discharged from the patients' bodies gradually," Mao said.

Mao added that although energetic medicine has no side effects, it is not suitable for patients with metal implants in their bodies.

Research and applications of energetic medicine are still rare in Taiwan. "Currently we only have seven or eight specialists in this area," Mao said, adding that many overseas medical institutions are very interested in the new treatment.

To promote energetic medicine in Taiwan, the primary task is to train more specialists in this area, Mao said.

Mao called for the National Health Insurance Program to pay for energetic medicine treatments.

The TMU will launch an intensive energetic medicine program starting from Feb.23, the first of its kind in Taiwan.

Tan Kai-yuan (譚開元), head of the Department of Health's Bureau of Medical Affairs, also attended the press conference to oversee the contents of energetic medicine.

Tan is scheduled to give lectures on Taiwan's medical policies and future medical direction during the TMU's energetic medicine program.