Abstract
Arterial pulse palpation is an important diagnostic method in Oriental Medicine, particularly for obtaining information about a patient's health conditions or illness, or for confirming a diagnostic conclusion based on the patient's pulsation. The pulse analyzer is both a leading Oriental Medical equipment and a promising tool with such a strong industrial ripple effect that it was selected as one of the four strategic tools for world Oriental Medical instrument market domination at a recent survey. Although various pulse analyzers had been developed, however, most of these were not widely used for clinical diagnosis, due perhaps to lack of the appliance's reliability caused by its inability to reflect the requirements of the clinicians. Thus, in this thesis, the clinical requirements for the pulse analyzer were identified and analyzed by conducting a questionnaire survey among Oriental Medicine clinicians. By looking into the basic functions of a pulse analyzer, the required measurement time, and the medical insurance fee required were determined and among others, the appliance's specific requirements were determined. Moreover, by investigating on the latest patent trend, the technical elements that are needed for the development of a next-generation pulse analyzer were identified. Through these processes, the flow of the technology that must be developed for the pulse analyzer was determined, and the direction for the development of the specific pulse analyzer hardware, sensor, and diagnostic algorithm was identified and proposed.
