The Marriage of IT and TCM

TCM and IT Brought Together in New Book

Information Technology (IT) might not be the first thing that comes to mind when Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is mentioned. However, two academics have recently published a book of IT analytical methods used to study TCM research.

Titled Data Analytics for traditional Chinese medicine research, the book is a collection of works from the field’s top researchers, including academics from mainland China, and addresses many of the issues surrounding traditional Chinese medicine and their use in a Western clinical setting.

Eastern and Western medicines have a lot to offer each other says the University of Sydney’s Dr Josiah Poon, editor of the book internationally published by Springer.

“As worldwide interest in integrative medicine – the blending of TCM and Western medicine – increases so too do the calls for evidence of its legitimacy,” says Dr Poon.

Dr Poon who has been studying Eastern medicines for more than two decades says TCM and information technologies are often viewed as polar opposites and eastern remedies tend to be seen as non-scientific.

But by using algorithms to analyze clinical records, he and his colleagues have been building the evidence-base needed to confirm their scientific merit.

For the full story, click here. The book is available for free preview. Click here.