Fast on your pins

There are some things which, one feels, a human being will always do better than a machine - such as acupuncture. But a new machine, called AMI (Apparatus for Measuring the functioning of the Internal organs and meridians) is proving a useful tool for busy practitioners.

AMI has been in use in Japan for two decades, but has only just appeared in this country. To use the machine, silver foil pads are attached to the patient's "jingwell" points on the fingers and toes. These correspond to the terminal points of the body's meridians - the energy channels which are fundamental to Chinese medicine.

A low-voltage, painless electrical-current flows through the pads, and within 15 minutes, the machine measures the "resistance" of each of the meridians and produces a diagnosis in the form of a printed chart.

Anton Michael Rocke of the Diagnostic Clinic, is impressed with the results. "Without this machine, I need 45 minutes with a patient to allow for in-depth questioning, and to make sure that my diagnosis is correct.

"With the machine, I can do it in 20 minutes. All the same, I still do a pulse diagnosis, just to double check on the results."

The Diagnostic Clinic, 50 New Cavendish Street, W1. www.thediagnosticclinic.com.