Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026
03:40
Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine for Managing Allergic Rhinitis
Published on: December 20, 2024
Double blinding with a new placebo needle: a validation study on participant blinding
Nobuari Takakura1, Miho Takayama, Akiko Kawase
1Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and Health Sciences, 2-9-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063, Japan. takakura@tau.ac.jp
Summary
The no-touch control needle, designed for acupuncture studies, was tested for participant blinding. Results indicate it is not suitable for double-blind trials due to frequent misidentification by subjects.
Area of Science:
- Acupuncture research methodology
- Clinical trial design
- Pain perception studies
Background:
- A novel no-touch control needle was developed for acupuncture studies.
- Previous research validated its use for practitioner blinding.
- Its efficacy in participant blinding remained unassessed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the no-touch control needle in blinding study participants.
- To determine if subjects can distinguish the no-touch needle from other needle types.
Main Methods:
- Eighty healthy subjects received three needle types: no-touch control, skin-touch placebo, and penetrating.
- Following needle application, subjects identified the needle type and rated sensory perception.
- A visual analogue scale measured skin penetration or pressure sensations.
Main Results:
- Subjects correctly identified needle types only 67% of the time.
- A significant number of no-touch needles were perceived as skin-touch (17/80).
- Pain was reported for skin-touch placebo (50%) and penetrating needles (65%), but rarely for no-touch needles (2%).
Conclusions:
- No-touch control needles are useful for acupuncture procedure blinding and studying skin-touch needle effects.
- However, their frequent misidentification by participants makes them unsuitable for double-blind acupuncture trials.
- Further refinement may be needed for effective participant blinding in acupuncture research.
Related Concept Videos
01:11Blinding
Blinding is a commonly used method of not telling participants which treatment a subject is receiving. Blinding is a critical part of a randomized control trial or RCT. It reduces the bias that affects the results. In an RCT, blinding is used in the form of a placebo. A placebo effect occurs when untreated subjects falsely believe they have received the treatment and report improved symptoms. A placebo or a dummy treatment is administered to subjects to negate the bias caused by such an effect.
02:07Blind Procedures
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which child was...
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
01:54The Placebo Effect
The placebo effect occurs when people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation. In other words, simply expecting something to happen can actually make it happen.
01:15Bioequivalence Experimental Study Designs: Repeated Measures, Cross-Over, Carry-Over, and Latin Square Designs
Bioequivalence experimental study designs play a pivotal role in testing the effectiveness of various treatments. Key among these are the repeated measures, cross-over, carry-over, and Latin square designs. In the repeated measures design, each subject receives all treatments, allowing for temporal comparisons. This type of design is useful in reducing variability but requires careful planning to avoid bias.The cross-over design, an economical method, involves sequential administration of...
01:15Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients
Bioavailability studies are essential for evaluating a drug's therapeutic efficacy and understanding its absorption patterns under various physiological conditions. Conducting such studies on target patient populations provides more relevant data by simulating real-world disease states. However, practical challenges often necessitate the use of young, healthy adult volunteers as study subjects.Patients may exhibit altered drug absorption patterns due to the effects of the disease itself,...