An interventional study of AI-guided Xinwu-point acupuncture and Blind Xinwu-point acupuncture in Allergic Rhinitis and Rhinitis, Allergic, sponsored by Daxing Teaching Hospital, Capital Medical University. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-21.
Sponsored by Daxing Teaching Hospital, Capital Medical University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study evaluated a new way to perform acupuncture at a deep point called the Xinwu point (sphenopalatine ganglion) for allergic rhinitis (hay fever-like nasal allergy). The point is hard to reach with the usual blind needling method. Artificial intelligence (AI) with real-time ultrasound images was used to help the acupuncturist see nearby structures and guide the needle. Sixty adults were randomly assigned to AI-guided needling or usual blind needling. Both groups received the same acupuncture schedule: both sides of the face, once a week, for six sessions. The primary aim was to measure how accurately the needle reached the target. Side effects, nasal symptom scores, overall improvement, and how acceptable participants found the procedure were also recorded.
This was a single-center, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial conducted at Daxing Teaching Hospital of Capital Medical University (Beijing Daxing District People's Hospital), China, from September 2025 to May 2026.
Participants: 60 adults aged 18-60 years with allergic rhinitis diagnosed according to Chinese clinical guidelines were randomized 1:1 to an experimental group (AI-assisted ultrasound-guided needling) or a control group (conventional blind needling), 30 per group. All needling was performed by the same acupuncturist.
Intervention: Both groups received bilateral acupuncture at the Xinwu point (sphenopalatine ganglion) once every 7 days for 6 sessions. In the experimental group, a low-frequency ultrasound probe with an AI image-recognition program labeled anatomical landmarks (including the condylar process, coronoid process, neurovascular bundle, maxilla, and lateral pterygoid plate) in real time, and the needle was advanced in-plane to the pterygopalatine fossa. In the control group, the same needle type and success criteria were used without ultrasound or AI guidance.
Primary outcomes: needling success rate, first-pass success rate, and mean number of punctures.
Secondary outcomes: adverse-event rate, Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS), total effective rate based on TNSS improvement, and scores on a self-designed patient-acceptance scale.
This registration is retrospective because enrollment and follow-up were completed before the record was submitted.
Exclusion Criteria:
AI-assisted real-time ultrasound visualization-guided acupuncture at the Xinwu point (sphenopalatine ganglion).
Procedure: AI-guided Xinwu-point acupuncture
Conventional blind acupuncture at the same Xinwu point without ultrasound or AI guidance.
Procedure: Blind Xinwu-point acupuncture
Bilateral acupuncture at the Xinwu point (sphenopalatine ganglion) once every 7 days for 6 sessions, guided by ultrasound with an AI anatomical-recognition program. Disposable filiform needle 0.35 mm x 60 mm.
Bilateral acupuncture at the Xinwu point once every 7 days for 6 sessions using conventional surface-landmark blind needling. Same needle type and treatment schedule as the experimental arm.
Needling success rate
Percentage of punctures that successfully hit the sphenopalatine ganglion (Xinwu point), defined by an electric-shock-like or water-spray nasal sensation with rapid improvement in nasal ventilation. Calculated as successful hits divided by total punctures over 6 sessions (bilateral).
Time frame: During 6 weekly treatment sessions, up to 6 weeks
First-pass success rate
Percentage of needling attempts that hit the target with a single puncture (no reinsertion).
Time frame: During 6 weekly treatment sessions, up to 6 weeks
Mean number of punctures
Mean number of needle insertions required to achieve a successful hit of the Xinwu point (sphenopalatine ganglion).
Time frame: During 6 weekly treatment sessions, up to 6 weeks
Adverse-event rate
Number of adverse events divided by total needling laterality-sessions (360 per group).
Time frame: From first treatment through 1 week after the last session, up to 7 weeks
Change in Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS)
TNSS (0-16) for nasal congestion, itching, sneezing, and rhinorrhea.
Time frame: Baseline and 1 week after the last session, up to 7 weeks
Total effective rate
Proportion of participants with TNSS improvement rate ≥26%.
Time frame: 1 week after the last session
Patient-acceptance scale score
Total score (10-50) on a self-designed 10-item Likert acceptance scale.
Time frame: Day 1, within 10 minutes after the first treatment
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data underlying the results of this study will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request after publication, subject to ethics committee approval and a data-use agreement. Data will not be posted in a public repository.
Supporting information: Study protocol
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.