DOCTORS here have begun offering modern versions of acupuncture that bear little resemblance to the millennia-old therapy used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The latest incarnations include a 'needleless' procedure that uses a low-powered laser beam, instead of acupuncture's characteristic needles.

Another - a device inserted in the ear that shoots electrical impulses into the brain - offers acupuncture on the go.

Both treatments, meant mainly for people with chronic pain, are now offered by the Complementary Integrative Medicine Clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). The clinic provides alternatives to Western medicine.

Portable ear acupuncture is done by sticking an acupuncture needle into the ear, which contains many nerves.

The needle is connected to a tiny battery-powered computer, which is taped behind the patient's ear. A small electrical current is sent down the needle at regular intervals over three to four days.

As in traditional acupuncture, the needle and electricity stimulate the nerves into sending signals to the brain to release pain-numbing chemicals into the body.

Studies in Austria, where the device was invented, have shown that it does as well as traditional acupuncture in providing relief for chronic back and neck pain.

Dr Kong Keng He, who heads the TTSH clinic, said the device can reduce hospital trips for patients, many of whom usually need three sessions a week.

He said: 'It's very inconvenient for working adults to come to hospital frequently.'

The clinic has treated more than 10 patients since it started using the device in the past year or so.

One of them, 65-year-old executive Ann Choo, woke up one morning in July 2006 with pain shooting down her lower back and right leg.

Despite exercises, massages and three sessions of traditional acupuncture, the pain persisted. But after three days of using the device, the pain disappeared, she said.

The clinic has started a trial on 15 patients to see how well the device works here and if the local climate causes any problems.

In the last two years, TTSH has also treated patients in its satellite rehabilitation ward in Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital with 'needleless' acupuncture that uses a low-powered laser beam, instead of needles.

The clinic plans to offer such laser acupuncture to the general public in two months.

It is meant for young children and people who fear needles, or have heightened sensitivity to pain, Dr Kong said.

One such patient, Ms Dorothy Teo, 59, suffers from lupus, a condition that sometimes makes her extremely sensitive to pain. But she needs acupuncture to ease her severe joint pains, also brought on by lupus.

She said: 'When I'm hypersensitive, even opening my eyes is painful. So laser acupuncture is good.'

With laser acupuncture, she needs to take just one painkiller daily, instead of three different types.

Therapy using the ear device costs $120 to $150, while an acupuncture session, with or without laser, costs $50 to $70.