About
The Topological Atlas and Repository for Acupoint Research (TARA) is a NIH-initiated project which will result in a new comprehensive resource for the acupuncture research and clinician community.
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.
The TARA platform was highlighted in a 2023 blog post by NCCIH Director, Helene Langevin, MD:
Gathering data points for acupuncture research ~ "The co-principal investigators, Drs. Vitaly Napadow, Rick Harris, and Karl Helmer, have mapped out a bold plan for the creation of a groundbreaking database that will function as a “Rosetta Stone,” translating between traditional knowledge and modern science. The goals of TARA are to:
- Collect and organize knowledge about the location and usage of acupoints from clinicians and acupuncture researchers
- Generate an in-depth mapping of acupoints using magnetic resonance imaging in live subjects
- Create functional anatomical models based on ApiNATOMY, a sophisticated toolkit for visualizing and organizing multiscale anatomical schematics with associated phenotypic information
- Build a relational database linking the anatomical location of acupoints to other important existing databases including SPARC (Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions), HubMAP (Human BioMolecular Atlas Program), and OpenNeuro (an open archive for analysis and sharing of data from the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® [BRAIN] Initiative)
The TARA database will allow the integration of existing knowledge on the neural effects of acupuncture with new knowledge in other domains as it emerges, such as on the relationship of acupoints to paths of interstitial fluid flow. These elements will help researchers demystify poorly understood phenomena long described in classical acupuncture texts when referring to acupoints and meridians, such as “flow,” “stagnation,” or “blockages,” and help capture physiological processes that we simply haven’t examined closely enough or fully understood.”
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Read about the PEOPLE who are designing TARA: