Russian Patent Developments on the Use of Acupuncture and Reflexotherapy in the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Patients with Ischemic Stroke: A Review

Aim. To systematize and comparatively analyse Russian patent developments of 1996–2024 concerning the use of acupuncture, needle reflexotherapy (NRT) and related techniques in patients with ischemic stroke (IS), with particular emphasis on methods applicable in the subacute phase (≥21 days post-onset).
Material and methods. A search was performed in Rospatent/FIPS, Google Patents, Espacenet, and WIPO PATENTSCOPE databases using Boolean operators and the keywords "acupuncture", "reflexotherapy", "electroacupuncture", "stroke", "post-stroke", "rehabilitation" (coverage through May 2026). Inclusion criteria: Russian Federation patent with an acupuncture component for cerebral stroke. Nine core patents and five adjacent patents on competing non-pharmacological methods were identified and analysed.
Results. Combined protocols predominate, integrating body acupuncture with scalp acupuncture, auriculotherapy, electrostimulation (DENS), magneto-laser therapy or pharmacopuncture. The school of E.E. Molchanova (Amur State Medical Academy), represented by patents RU2531693C1 (2014) and RU2669025C1 (2018), shows the highest level of methodological detail. Although most patents are formally designated for the "acute period", the described 10–15-session daily courses in practice cover the subacute phase. Core acupoints identified: LI4, LI11, TE5, ST36, GB34, SP6. After 2018 a clear shift in patenting activity towards high-technology neurorehabilitation methods is observed.
Conclusion. The Russian patent corpus on acupuncture for IS is methodologically rigorous and clinically relevant. Priority directions for further inventive activity include dedicated subacute-phase protocols, domestic electroacupuncture devices with verified stimulation parameters, objective efficacy assessment methods using neuroimaging biomarkers, and international patent filing of the most promising Russian developments.

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