This month we review three iPhone apps for acupuncturists and their patients. iFitness covers exercise, TCM Clinic Aid is a clinical application app, and QLecture Acupuncture LITE is an acupuncture channel video lecture for the iPhone.
iFitness
iFitness is a first rate iPhone app. It features pictures, videos, and descriptions of exercises that are laid out in a very user-friendly format. iFitness covers weight lifting, isotonics, cardiovascular, and stretching exercises. Major categories include: abdominals, arms, back, chest, legs, shoulders, cardio, and stretches. The descriptions and visuals are very clear. It is easy to use correct form when following the iFitness advice. iFitness allows the user to setup their own routines and also customize and track workouts. It includes a weight monitor, BMI calculator, and a section for tracking body measurements. At HealthCMI, we give iFitness our highest rating. It is fully compatible with the new iOS 4.0 Apple operating system and will soon feature iPad updates. iFitness sells for $1.99 .
TCM Clinic Aid
In our last herbal iPhone app review, we gave a thumbs up to Ben Cao. We like its ergonomic interface and appreciate the accuracy of the individual herb and herbal formula information. Today, we are reviewing TCM Clinic Aid which sells for $5.99 . It offers three major categories to search: diagnosis, herbs, and acupuncture points. Regarding herbs, we much prefer the Ben Cao app. The TCM Clinic Aid interface is a bit clunky, searching is more difficult, and it lacks the easy-touch cross referencing of Ben Cao. However, TCM Clinic Aid’s acupuncture point descriptions offer nice pictures of the points for easy location. Although the ergonomics and layout have a long way to go, we like the accuracy of the information presented. The diagnostic section breaks down into internal organs, four levels, residual pathogenics, and six stages. It includes accurate theory information but we felt the layout could be improved significantly. Overall, we look forward to improvements in this iPhone App’s cross-referencing capabilities, layout, and ergonomics.
QLecture Acupuncture LITE
Qpuncture offers 14 different iPhone Apps. Today, we look at QLecture Acupuncture LITE. This is a basic review of the Lung channel from a videotaped lecture. At $0.99, it is an affordable review of the channel which may be helpful for acupuncture students looking to pass board examinations or perhaps acupuncturists interested in continuing education who are wishing to listen to a nice review. The instructor offers clear, accurate, and concise information on the Lung channel. The video and audio quality are acceptable but could be significantly better. Despite these low production qualities, the instructor’s excellence overcomes these technical setbacks to deliver a quality lecture. We really like the ability to tap on the name of a point and the lecture jumps to that section. There is also an option to “Play Lectures in One Section”. When selecting this option, the entire video plays from the starting point selected. Otherwise, it will only play the individual acupuncture point selected. This makes for a quality interface. We give the ergonomics a thumbs up. To get all 12 major channels plus the Du and Ren channels, you will need QLecture Acupuncture. This costs $99.00 and therefore warrants pause. We suggest giving the LITE version a try and deciding for yourself. Our official suggestion is that you can’t really lose at the 99 cent price point. In the future, we look forward to improvements in both video and audio quality to better enhance the lectures.
