The key to acceptance of traditional medicine is the affirmation of its clinical efficacy. However, the classical efficacy evaluation method of randomised controlled trial is not entirely adaptive to traditional medicine due to different theoretical systems and modes of practice. Taking traditional Chinese medicine as an example, Chinese herbal compounds usually achieve best results when they are adjusted by experienced practitioners according to patients’ individual conditions. Therefore, the exploration of innovative methods and technologies for efficacy evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine has become one of the major scientific issues in the field.

The past two decades have witnessed the development of evidence-based Chinese medicine. Researchers have been actively modifying existing methods and technologies of efficacy evaluation to make them suitable to traditional Chinese medicine, such as Goal Attainment Scaling, which is an individualised measurement approach, and Pulse Pattern Diagnostic Systems for objective measures. The aim of efficacy evaluation is not only to show scientific evidence, but also to find and duplicate efficacious rules.

This Special Issue aims to create an interdisciplinary platform involving experts of medicine, research methodology, statistics, engineering, and artificial intelligence, to discuss experiences, challenges, or viable solutions, and to present innovative methods and technologies for efficacy evaluation of traditional medicine. We welcome original research articles and as well as review articles that describe the state of the art and stimulate the continuing effort.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Different opinions on the current efficacy evaluation strategies of traditional medicine
• The latest progress of methods and technologies for efficacy evaluation of traditional medicine
• Experiences of and challenges for efficacy evaluation of traditional medicine
• Introduction and research on innovative methods and new technologies for efficacy evaluation of traditional medicine
• Evaluation of the individualised treatment of traditional medicine
• Clinical research design and evaluation indexes adaptive to traditional medicine