The Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint Research (TARA) is a NIH-funded project which will result in a new comprehensive resource for the acupuncture research and clinician community.
TARA is currently under review for potential modification in compliance with administration directives. Beta search functions are available for testing/preview.
TARA will include an open-access (i.e. free) web-based portal and database incorporating (1) an acupoint ontology using both Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) and conventional biological nomenclature systems; (2) male and female human and rat body atlases including invivo MRI, cadaver cryosection, and/or ultrasound data and a standardized 3D coordinate system; and (3) a searchable database of acupoint characteristics along with associated acupoint-stimulation physiological response data (from peer-reviewed publications), curated by an expert committee.
Gathering data points for acupuncture research ~ "I’m proud that the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has put into motion an effort to address this problem with a new initiative that will result in the development of an open-access repository and database for the anatomical and physiological correlates of acupoints. This data initiative has long been needed to advance the work of researchers in the field."...read the full message from (former) NCCIH Director, Helene M. Langevin, M.D. here.