Inter-operator Variability of Electrodermal Measure at Jing Well Points using AcuGraph 3

Recent studies have found that many factors influence electrodermal measurements, both biological and operator induced. Here we report on operator variability for a series of measurements made by four operators at Jing-Well points on 132 individuals of both sexes (68 male and 64 female) using AcuGraph3 ‘Digital Meridian Imaging Tool’: Operator 1 (16 male, 12 female), Operator 2 (18 male, 13 female), Operator 3 (15 male, 21 female), and Operator 4 (19 male, 18 female). The individuals studied were attending a yoga therapy program for type 2 diabetes mellitus, and assessed on the 1st day of treatment. Large inter-operator variations in overall acumeridian energy readings were observed. For individual meridians, AcuGraph3 measure differed by up to 42 points for minimum values and 67 points for maximum values. After normalizing, data showed similar patterns between different acumeridians. This suggested that: variations were caused by operators applying different pressures when making measurements; inter-operator variability should be considered when interpreting electrodermal measurements made by several different operators; and unless inter-operator variability is taken into account, actual values will not have any meaning. Only then can we evaluate readings for the same population taken by different operators.