Talk:Yoshiaki Omura/Test

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 an extensive and wide-ranging series of 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 of fact and judgement in that case the Tribunal formally found that ‘...there is no plausible evidence that PMRT [BDORT] 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 numerous 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 test is the evaluation of opposing muscle strength consisting of the diagnostician's holding her thumb and forefinger of each hand, formed in the shape of an O and attempts to force apart an O shape formed by thumb and forefinger of the person being evaluated, as 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 matter (organ tissue or acupuncture point) being evaluated.

Patent
Yoshiaki Omura's initial Bi-Digital O-Ring patent application was rejected by the US Patent Office as 'too unbelievable to be true'. He then reapplied for patent in 1987, and was again rejected, being told 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' and as a case where the USPO's policy of 'presumption of validity' led to the acceptance of a patent that they believe would be better characterized as 'carnival entertainment.'

Applications
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 inappopriately 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, eg, atop the patient's head, while at the same time the diagnostician performs the test on the left hand of the intermediary.


 * 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.

Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand Consideration
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)

Expert Testimony Offered With Which The Tribunal Concurred In Its Findings

 * "‘In summary, I find the descriptions of the AK [applied kinesiology] 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 [applied kinesiology] methods (and BDORTing) [testing] 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 [applied kinesiology] 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 

Selective Drug Uptake Enhancement Method
The Selective Drug Uptake Enhancement Method is a central component of Omura’s BDORT-derived armamentarium of treatments in which, according to his claims, it is possible, via BDORT diagnosis and evaluation coupled with appropriate acupuncture point stimulation, to ‘target’ medications, whether alternative or conventional, to specific cells or tissues, eg, cancer cells, while conversely ensuring that the medications will have minimal ‘uptake’ by non-targeted tissues or cells, thus maximizing the efficacy of the prescribed medications while minimizing side effects.

Solar Energy Stored Papers
From his research via BDORT assessment and evaluation, Omura believes that it is possible to capture a special healing power of sunlight, for which his term is Special Solar Energy, on index cards or other ordinary paper, and for which method he has applied for patent. This energy must, for maximum efficacy, be ‘captured’ at the ideal times of sunrise and sunset, and carefully preserved on what he then terms as Special Solar Energy Stored Papers, maintaining appropriate Qi Gong polarity at all times 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.

Other Researches – Psychic Healing and Psychic Surgery
Omura 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.

Pollution suit against General Motors
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 actual and punitive monetary damages to be awarded to its research activities. The case was dismissed as devoid of merit, establishing precedent that such ‘a bare-bones statement of conspiracy. . . without supporting facts permits dismissal’ and was meritless in both its particulars and its essential character, and US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were subsequently amended to make such a suit impossible in future. (Heart Disease Research Foundation v General Motors Corp, 15 Fed.R.Serv. 2d 1517, 1519 (SDNY, 1972))

Affiliations/Credentials
Omura's presentation of credentials and bona fides seem, at times explicitly, to suggest affiliation with Columbia University, though he is not known in fact 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, as if to suggest some form of affiliation with or approval by Columbia University. 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/workshops in New York, listed by the University of the State of New York Education Department 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 which would state or suggest that accreditation to teach acupuncture constitutes certification or endorsement of the full range of Omura's Bi-Digital O-Ring Test as referenced on his New York or Japanese websites or whether this diagnostic test has been subject to their review and consideration.