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Yoshiaki Omura, MD, ScD, (born 28 March, 1934, in Asahi, Toyama Prefecture, Japan), is President and Founder of the International College of Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics, President and Founder of the International Bi-Digital O-Ring Test Medical Association, and Director of Medical Research of the Heart Disease Research Foundation.

Omura is the creator of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test (BDORT), a form of applied kinesiology which has been characterized as pseudoscience, as well as several other alternative medicine techniques derivative of and dependent upon the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test for their application and evaluation, all of which are presented in Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics Research, The International Journal, of which Omura is Founder and Editor-in-Chief, as well as in seminars presented by Omura and his colleagues.

In the only known credible independent evaluation and judgement of the BDORT or of any other of Omura’s variant and derivative treatments and techniques by a mainstream scientific or medical body, the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand heard extensive expert testimony as to claims of scientific validity and efficacy of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test in the course of its consideration of the case of Richard Gorringe, who was charged with and ultimately found guilty of professional misconduct and disgraceful conduct, fined, and stripped of his license. In the Tribunal’s final findings in that case the Tribunal found that ‘...there is no plausible evidence that PMRT has any scientific validity.’

Bi-Digital O-Ring Test

The Bi-Digital O-Ring Test is an alternative medicine diagnostic test developed by Omura, for which he holds patent. Proponents of the test say the test is effective in the analysis and assessment of several biological and environmental factors, and in the diagnosis and treatment of a number of conditions. The test is not known to have been presented or subject to credible independent review other than that of the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand.

Description

The form of the test is the evaluation of a subject's opposing muscle strength consisting of the diagnostician's employing thumb and forefinger of each hand, formed in the shape of an O, to attempt to force apart an O shape formed by thumb and forefinger of the person being evaluated. At the same time, that person holds a slide of organ tissue, a sample of medication, potential allergen, etc, in their free hand, or is otherwise 'probed' at an appropriate acupuncture point by the use of a metal rod or laser pointer. The diagnostician then uses his or her perception of the strength required to force apart the patient's 'O-Ring' of thumb and forefinger to assess the subject's health.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Patent

Yoshiaki Omura's initial Bi-Digital O-Ring patent application was rejected by the US Patent Office as 'too unbelievable to be true,' according to his own account. He then reapplied for patent in 1987, and was again rejected. The patent office told him that he would not be granted a patent solely on the basis of his own research. He then enlisted, according to his account, the assistance of 'my associates in clinical fields and basic sciences, both in Japan and the United States,' and, with further effort, patent was granted in 1993.

The fact that patent was granted to the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test has been cited as an example of 'high weirdness' by at least one firm of patent attorneys, and by another firm of patent attorneys as 'just plain offensive.' These critics say the patent is an example of the presumption of validity on the part of the US Patent Office being misused because the procedure has no utility beyond 'carnival entertainment.'

Suggested uses of BDORT

The BDORT is capable, according to Omura and his colleagues, of a wide range of applications in the diagnosis, prescription of treatment, and evaluation of efficacy of treatment of, amongst others: heart conditions, cancers, 'pre-cancers,' allergic reactions, viral and bacterial infections, a range of organic and/or environmental stresses, as well as the precise location of acupuncture points and meridians previously unknown or inappropriately identified. There is no known credible independent mainstream scientific or medical evaluation or validation of these claims.

Derivative and Variant Applications

There are a number of variant methodologies of the application of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test presented by Omura.

The Indirect Method

In the Indirect Method of application an intermediary is employed, and the patient is not directly examined. The intermediary, for example, directs a laser pointer held in his or her right hand at the appropriate acupuncture point, for example, atop the patient's head, while at the same time the diagnostician performs the test on the left hand of the intermediary. There is no known credible independent mainstream scientific or medical evaluation or validation of this methodology.

Remote Application

Omura claims that it is possible, if the procedure is performed by a very experienced practitioner such as himself, to perform the BDORT on a patient over the telephone without having any physical contact with the patient. In this procedure the patient is, for example, instructed to hold in one hand a substance being evaluated, while holding the telephone receiver at the bodily location prescribed by the diagnostician. The practitioner then evaluates the muscle strength necessary to separate the interlocked O–rings of thumb and forefinger of each of his or her own two hands, and uses this data in place of data from standard BDORT on the patient. There is no known credible independent mainstream scientific or medical evaluation or validation of this methodology.

Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand review of BDORT

The Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand, in its consideration of the case of Richard Gorringe, examined and dismissed any claims of scientific validity of the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test, offering the following summary statement of findings:

"We therefore accept that PMRT is not a plausible, reliable, or scientific technique for making medical decisions. We find there is no plausible evidence that PMRT has any scientific validity. It therefore follows that reliance on PMRT to make diagnoses to the exclusion of conventional and/or generally recognized diagnostic/investigatory techniques is unacceptable and irresponsible."

– Tribunal Findings, Paragraph 363 (Note that the Tribunal uses the terms PMRT and BDORT interchangeably, characterizing both as a form of Applied Kinesiology, cf Paragraphs 100, 280, 290, 297, 305, 306, et alia)

Testimony used by tribunals in their decision

Several doctors provided testimony at the MPDT tribunal:

‘In summary, I find the descriptions of the AK methods and in particular the BDORT test to be inconsistent with known physical principles. Even if it were possible to produce a “field” with these methods, AK methods (and BDORTing) have not been shown to produce an electrical field which is required to alter the electrical activation of nerve and muscle. A limited survey of the literature shows that the AK testing results are unreliable – and this idea is apparently supported by some organisations that support complementary medicine. I find it deeply disturbing that the only people who seem to claim reliable diagnostic results are those who make a living from applying it and some controlled scientific tests reveal no validity to these claims.’ – Professor Mark Bryden Cannell, Expert Witness called by the Tribunal, with whose testimony it concurred – Tribunal Findings, Paragraph 306

‘BDORT is operator dependent, meaning that what actually happens is that the operator diagnoses whatever it is that he believes in. One cannot scientifically evaluate “belief”. In the context of testing, then, it would be impossible to challenge the practitioner’s belief in his apparatus. – John Charles Welch, MD, Expert Witness called by the Tribunal, with whose testimony it concurred – Tribunal Findings, Paragraph 314

‘I think the big problem with the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test is the fact that it’s not been properly tested to make sure that the results are reproducible. As Professor Cannell alluded to in his evidence, the key thing about science is a naive observer anywhere in the world should be able to reproduce the results using the same apparatus.” – John Charles Welch, MD, Expert Witness called by the Tribunal, with whose testimony it concurred – Tribunal Findings, Paragraph 316

Note: The Tribunal specifically equates BDORT’s claims of scientific validity with those of Applied Kinesiology and Gorringe’s personally preferred terminology of PMRT. Cf Paragraphs 100, 280, 290, 297, 305, 306, et alia

Other medical techniques and research by Omura

Selective Drug Uptake Enhancement Method

Omura says the Selective Drug Uptake Enhancement Method is a central component of his BDORT-derived treatments. With this treatment, according to his claims, it is possible, via BDORT diagnosis and evaluation coupled with appropriate acupuncture point stimulation, to ‘target’ alternative or conventional medications to specific cells or tissues, for example, cancer cells. According to Omura, when this occurs the medications will have minimal ‘uptake’ by non-targeted tissues or cells, thus maximizing the efficacy of the prescribed medications while minimizing side effects. There is no known credible independent mainstream scientific or medical evaluation or validation of this methodology or its claims to efficacy.

Solar Energy Stored Papers

From his research via BDORT assessment and evaluation, Omura says he has a device which can capture a special healing power of sunlight for which his term is Special Solar Energy: Solar Energy Stored Papers (SESP). Omura uses index cards or other ordinary paper and he says the sunlight must be ‘captured’ at the ideal times of sunrise and sunset. Omura says the energy can then be preserved in SESP while maintaining appropriate Qi Gong polarity and shielding the papers from electromagnetic fields by carefully wrapping them in aluminum foil. Thus captured and preserved, he claims that Special Solar Energy is effective in the treatment of a number of conditions, including arthritis, cancers, hypertension, and Alzheimer’s Disease. He has applied for a patent for this process. There is no known credible independent mainstream scientific or medical evaluation or validation of this methodology or its claims to efficacy.

Other research: psychic healing and psychic surgery

Omura, as published in his journal, has investigated the application of psychic healing and psychic surgery in Brazil, particularly that of Rubens Farias, Jr, who claims to channel the spirit of Dr Fritz. Applying the BDORT as his tool of evaluation, he concluded that psychic healing's and psychic surgery's healing effects were achieved through the application of Qi Gong energy and the use of acupuncture points. There is no known credible independent mainstream scientific or medical evaluation or validation of Omura's findings.

Education and activities

Heart Disease Research Foundation

The Heart Disease Research Foundation, of which Omura has been Director of Medical Research since 1971, in 1972 sued General Motors on behalf of all citizens of the United States affected by pollution from General Motors, seeking substantial damages to be awarded to the foundation.

The case was dismissed as devoid of merit with the statement that ‘a bare-bones statement of conspiracy . . . without supporting facts permits dismissal’. US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were subsequently amended to make similar cases impossible in future. (Heart Disease Research Foundation v General Motors Corp, 15 Fed.R.Serv. 2d 1517, 1519 (SDNY, 1972))

Affiliations/Credentials

Omura's credentials suggest affiliation with Columbia University, though he is not known to have any affiliation with Columbia. Similarly, Omura's sites prominently feature the statement that he has long held and continues to hold an 'Annual International Symposium on Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics' at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. There is no known credible independent source to confirm Omura's presentations which suggest affiliation with Columbia University, nor known reference to him on any site or publication of Columbia University.

Activities

Yoshiaki Omura, as head of the International College of Acupuncture & Electro-Therapeutics, conducts monthly seminars in New York. The University of the State of New York Education Department allows these seminars to count towards course credit for physicians and dentists seeking certification for the application of acupuncture in the course of their practice. There is no known statement of the Office of the Professions of the New York State Education Department that state that accreditation to teach acupuncture constitutes certification or endorsement of the full range of Omura's methods.

Notes

External links

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