ISO/TS 16843-6:2022
(Main)Health informatics — Categorial structures for representation of acupuncture — Part 6: Acupuncture effects
Health informatics — Categorial structures for representation of acupuncture — Part 6: Acupuncture effects
This document specifies the categorial structure within the field of acupuncture effects by defining a set of domain constraints of sanctioned characteristics, each consisting of a semantic link and an applicable characterizing category.
Informatique de santé — Structures catégoriques pour la représentation de l'acupuncture — Partie 6: Effets de l'acupuncture
General Information
- Status
- Published
- Publication Date
- 20-Jun-2022
- Technical Committee
- ISO/TC 215 - Health informatics
- Drafting Committee
- ISO/TC 215 - Health informatics
- Current Stage
- 9092 - International Standard to be revised
- Start Date
- 04-Dec-2025
- Completion Date
- 12-Feb-2026
Overview
ISO/TS 16843-6:2022 - Health informatics: Categorial structures for representation of acupuncture - Part 6: Acupuncture effects defines a formal categorial structure to represent acupuncture effects in health informatics. The specification establishes a set of domain constraints - each composed of a semantic link and an applicable characterizing category - to make descriptions of acupuncture outcomes explicit and machine-interpretable. It addresses inconsistent or insufficient reporting in clinical and experimental acupuncture studies by providing a common semantic framework for annotation and data exchange.
Key topics
- Categorial structure and scope: Specifies minimal domain constraints for representing concepts in the acupuncture effects field (semantic link + characterizing category).
- Characterizing categories: Defines categories relevant to acupuncture effects, such as acupuncture therapy, needling method, acupuncture point, anatomical structure, disorder, biological process (and subtypes like cellular process, metabolic process, developmental process), gene expression, molecular function, and endogenous ligand.
- Semantic links: Formal directed relations used to associate concepts. Examples included in the document are:
- Applied to (therapy → acupuncture point)
- Located in (gene expression → anatomical structure)
- Part of (cellular component → anatomical structure)
- Regulates, Occurs in, Has participant, Binds (and their inverses)
- Formal representation: UML diagram and formal concept representation aligned with ISO 17115 principles to enable structured terminology and ontology mapping.
Applications
- Clinical research reporting: Standardizes how acupuncture effects are described in experimental and clinical reports, improving clarity and reproducibility.
- Data annotation and integration: Supports consistent tagging of study results (e.g., gene expression changes, physiological responses) to enable meta-analysis and evidence synthesis.
- Health informatics & EHRs: Facilitates interoperability between electronic health records, clinical decision support systems, and registries that include acupuncture treatments and outcomes.
- Ontology and terminology development: Provides a scaffold for vocabulary builders, biomedical ontologists, and terminology services integrating Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concepts with biomedical data.
Who should use this standard
- Health informatics professionals, EHR and clinical data system developers
- Acupuncture researchers and clinical trialists
- Biomedical ontologists, terminology teams, and standards implementers
- Regulatory and academic organizations working on acupuncture evidence synthesis
Related standards and access
ISO/TS 16843-6:2022 is part of the ISO 16843 series and was developed by ISO/TC 215 (Health informatics) in collaboration with ISO/TC 249 (Traditional Chinese medicine). For the full text and implementation guidance, obtain the official document from the ISO website or your national standards body.
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Frequently Asked Questions
ISO/TS 16843-6:2022 is a technical specification published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Its full title is "Health informatics — Categorial structures for representation of acupuncture — Part 6: Acupuncture effects". This standard covers: This document specifies the categorial structure within the field of acupuncture effects by defining a set of domain constraints of sanctioned characteristics, each consisting of a semantic link and an applicable characterizing category.
This document specifies the categorial structure within the field of acupuncture effects by defining a set of domain constraints of sanctioned characteristics, each consisting of a semantic link and an applicable characterizing category.
ISO/TS 16843-6:2022 is classified under the following ICS (International Classification for Standards) categories: 35.240.80 - IT applications in health care technology. The ICS classification helps identify the subject area and facilitates finding related standards.
ISO/TS 16843-6:2022 is available in PDF format for immediate download after purchase. The document can be added to your cart and obtained through the secure checkout process. Digital delivery ensures instant access to the complete standard document.
Standards Content (Sample)
TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 16843-6
First edition
2022-06
Health informatics — Categorial
structures for representation of
acupuncture —
Part 6:
Acupuncture effects
Informatique de santé — Structures catégoriques pour la
représentation de l'acupuncture —
Partie 6: Effets de l'acupuncture
Reference number
© ISO 2022
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 General . 1
3.2 Characterizing categories . 2
4 Categorial structure . 5
4.1 Overview . 5
4.2 Semantic links . 7
4.2.1 Applied to . 7
4.2.2 Located in . 7
4.2.3 Part of . 7
4.2.4 Regulates . 7
4.2.5 Occurs in . 7
4.2.6 Has participant . 8
4.2.7 Binds . . 8
Bibliography . 9
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
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For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 215, Health informatics, in collaboration
with Technical Committee ISO/TC 249, Traditional Chinese medicine.
A list of all parts in the ISO 16843 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
Acupuncture therapy is being widely practiced in many countries. Acupuncture therapy is used to
treat many diseases by regulating the physiological functions of the internal organs (zang-fu) and
body systems. Stimulating the acupoints with an acupuncture needle or with electro acupuncture can
directly or indirectly cause changes in organs, tissues, cells, molecules and other chemical substances,
then affects physiological or pathological functions in human body or experimental animals. The effects
of acupuncture can be measured by laboratory tests or clinical observations.
A large number of clinical research studies and animal experiments have been conducted to assess the
mechanism of acupuncture therapy. However, the descriptions of acupuncture effects in clinical reports
or experimental reports tend to be insufficient or inconsistent for interpretation of heterogeneity, thus
causing difficulties in synthesizing data for analysis. This arises from two reasons:
a) An appropriate categorial structure for the acupuncture effect has not been formulated;
b) Semantic associations between the concepts of the acupuncture effect need to be made more
explicit.
This document aims at solving these existing problems.
v
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 16843-6:2022(E)
Health informatics — Categorial structures for
representation of acupuncture —
Part 6:
Acupuncture effects
1 Scope
This document specifies the categorial structure within the field of acupuncture effects by defining
a set of domain constraints of sanctioned characteristics, each consisting of a semantic link and an
applicable characterizing category.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1 General
3.1.1
concept
unit of knowledge created by a unique combination of characteristics
Note 1 to entry: A concept can have one or more names. It can be represented using one or more terms, pictures,
icons or sounds.
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 16843-2:2015, 3.1]
3.1.2
categorial structure
minimal set of domain constraints for representing concept systems in a subject field
[SOURCE: ISO 17115:2020, 3.1.1, modified]
3.1.3
category
division of sets of entities regarded as having particular shared characteristics
EXAMPLE Oral route, subcutaneous route and all other routes share characteristics particular to the
category route.
Note 1 to entry: Categories can be more or less general. Where one category is subsumed by another, the ‘is a’
relation is asserted to obtain a hierarchy between the more specific or subsumed category and the more general
or subsuming category. For example, parenteral route is more general than intravenous route.
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 16843-2:2015, 3.3]
3.1.4
characterizing category
category (3.1.3) of characteristics which serves as the criterion of subdivision when establishing
concept systems
EXAMPLE The type of characteristics ‘colour’ includes being red, blue, green, etc. The type of characteristics
‘material’ includes made of wood, metal, etc.
[SOURCE: ISO 17115:2020, 3.1.3, modified]
3.1.5
semantic link
formal representation of a directed associative relation or partitive relation between two concepts
EXAMPLE is Cause Of (with inverse has Cause); has Location (with inverse is Location Of).
Note 1 to entry: This includes all relations except the generic relation.
Note 2 to entry: A semantic link always has an inverse, i.e. another semantic link with the opposite direction.
[SOURCE: ISO/TS 16843-2:2015, 3.5]
3.2 Characterizing categories
3.2.1
acupuncture therapy
treatment of disease by inserting needles along specific pathways or meridians at an acupuncture point
Note 1 to entry: The placement of the acupuncture needle varies with the disease being treated. It is sometimes
used in conjunction with heat, moxibustion, acupressure, or electric stimulation.
EXAMPLE Electro-a
...




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