Acupuncture Classics

Waichi Sugiyama is well-known as an inventor of the Kanshin method (acupuncture using a guiding tube). In the 17th century, blind acupuncturist, Waichi Sugiyama was in search of a simple, painless and speedy insertion method. He developed the insertion tube, a small cylindrical tube through which the needle is inserted. This insertion method is still used today by practitioners worldwide, and in Japan by over 90% of acupuncturists.  Over the last decade especially, the Sugiyama’s guiding tube has been used among urologists when they perform the acupuncture-like procedure called percutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (also referred to as Stoller afferent nerve stimulation) for the management of an overactive bladder.