Development and application of the practical training instrument of warming needle moxibustion with quantifiable evaluation. / ä¸€ç§å¯é‡åŒ–è¯„ä»·çš„æ¸©é’ˆç¸å®žè®­æ•™å­¦ä»ªçš„ç ”åˆ¶ä¸Žå®žè·µ.

Based on summarizing the essential procedures and elements of traditional manipulation techniques of warming needle moxibustion and determining the quantitative parameters and indicators for evaluating the operation of this acupuncture technique, a training instrument of warming needle moxibustion was developed and adopted in the curriculum teaching of practice. It showed that this instrument could quantify the speed of fixing mugwort ball on the needle handle, the number of the prepared mugwort ball, the duration for anti-vibration, the frequency of anti-vibration and the burning time of mugwort ball. The instrument could objectively evaluate the skills of warming needle moxibustion and the effects of fixing mugwort ball. Besides, it may provide the references to improve the protocol of the future research. The development and application of the practical training instrument of warming needle moxibustion is conductive to cultivate the standardization and accuracy of the technique operation in students, and it is significant for objectif-ying the teaching course of warming needle and teaching assessment, as well as for diversifying the teaching modes. Moreover, it plays an exemplary role in the practical training of other acupuncture and moxibustion techniques.

Effect of mild moxibustion with moxa stick and infrared mild moxibustion on skin blood perfusion at Waiguan (TE 5). / è‰¾æ¡æ¸©å’Œç¸ä¸Žçº¢å¤–çº¿æ¸©å’Œç¸å¯¹å¤–å ³ç©´çš®è‚¤è¡€æµçŒæ³¨é‡çš„å½±å“.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the changes of skin blood flow perfusion at Waiguan (TE 5) caused by mild moxibustion with moxa stick and infrared mild moxibustion using laser speckle contrast imaging technology, and to compare the microcirculatory effect during and after both moxibustion methods and explore the dose-response relationship of moxibustion. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy participants were treated with mild moxibustion with moxa stick and infrared mild moxibustion at left Waiguan (TE 5). The record started when the skin temperature reached (44±1) °C, and both moxibustion methods were provided within this temperature range. The 20-minute moxibustion process was divided into four stages (5, 10, 15, and 20 min) using interpolation method, and each participant completed eight interventions with a minimum 24-hour interval between different interventions. The skin surface temperature of the left Waiguan (TE 5) was monitored when both moxibustion interventions were given for 10 min using a TES1306 thermocouple thermometer. The skin microcirculatory blood perfusion units (MBPU) of left Waiguan (TE 5) was measured using a PSIN-01087 laser speckle blood flow imager 1 min before moxibustion, at 5, 10, 15, 20 min during moxibustion and continuously for 20 min after moxibustion in each intervention. RESULTS: The skin surface temperature of the left Waiguan (TE 5) remained within the range of (44±1) °C during both moxibustion methods, with no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). Compared with that before moxibustion, the MBPU of the left Waiguan (TE 5) was increased significantly at 5, 10, 15, and 20 min of both moxibustion methods (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with moxibustion for 10, 15 and 20 min, the MBPU of the left Waiguan (TE 5) of moxibustion for 5 min was lower in both moxibustion methods (P<0.01). For both moxibustion methods with the same moxibustion course, the MBPU of the left Waiguan (TE 5) 20 min after intervention was significantly higher than that at 1 min before moxibustion (P<0.001), and there was no significant difference in MBPU between 1 min before moxibustion and 20 min after moxibustion among different groups (P>0.05). Within the same moxibustion method, the MBPU of the left Waiguan (TE 5) 20 min after moxibustion with the intervention of 5 min was lower compared to that of 10, 15, and 20 min of moxibustion (P<0.001), with no significant differences between 10, 15, and 20 min of moxibustion (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: When controlling the skin temperature at Waiguan (TE 5) within (44±1) °C, infrared mild moxibustion has similar effects on skin microcirculatory blood perfusion as traditional mild moxibustion with moxa sticks. From a dose-response perspective, microcirculation reached a stable state after 10 min of moxibustion, and moxibustion interventions lasting for more than 10 min shows better therapeutic effects.

[Current status and trend of acupuncture-moxibustion for myofascial pain syndrome: a visual analysis of knowledge graph based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer].

Bibliometric and scientific knowledge graph methods were used to analyze the research status and hot spots of acupuncture-moxibustion in treatment of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and explore its development trend. The articles of both Chinese and English versions relevant to MPS treated by acupuncture-moxibustion were searched in CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, SinoMed and WOS from the database inception to March 20, 2023. Using Excel2016, CiteSpace6.2.R2 and VOSviewer1.6.18, the visual analysis was conducted by means of the cooperative network, keyword co-occurrence, keyword timeline, keyword emergence, etc. From Chinese databases and WOS database, 910 Chinese articles and 300 English articles were included, respectively. The annual publication volume showed an overall rising trend. Literature output of English articles was concentrated in Spain, China, and the United States, of which, there was less cross-regional cooperation. In the keyword analysis, regarding acupuncture-moxibustion therapy, Chinese articles focused on "acupuncture", "electroacupuncture" and "acupotomy"; while, "dry needling" and "injection" were dominated for English one. Clinical study was the current hot spot in Chinese databases, in comparison, the randomized controlled double-blind clinical trial was predominant in WOS. Both Chinese and English articles were limited in the report of mechanism research. The cooperation among research teams should be strengthened to conduct comparative research, dose-effect research and effect mechanism research with different methods of acupuncture-moxibustion involved so that the evidences can be provided for deeper exploration.

[Development and application of visual analysis teaching software for acupoint compatibility laws].

A user-friendly teaching software for visual analysis of acupoint compatibility laws has been developed based on the principles of partial order mathematics. This software is designed to provide auxiliary teaching of structured organization and visualization of law knowledge of compatibility data of acupuncture and moxibustion prescriptions from ancient texts, textbooks, and clinical case records. The software is installed as a plugin in the Microsoft Office Excel, allowing the generation of visually appealing graphs and associated rules that align with the cognitive patterns of teachers and students majoring in acupuncture and moxibustion. Its aim is to facilitate the discovery and analysis of underlying patterns and structured knowledge embedded in acupoint compatibility data, thus contributing to the enhancement of teaching effectiveness in acupoint compatibility.

[Design and development of a novel infrared mild moxibustion device].

To make up for the shortcomings of traditional mild moxibustion, according to the principle and technical operation characteristics of traditional mild moxibustion, combined with temperature control technology, a novel infrared mild moxibustion device is developed, which is capable of real-time accurate temperature control. This novel infrares mild moxibustion device is composed of a host computer and an infrared radiation head. The host computer includes four modules: power supply, human-computer interaction interface, micro control unit (MCU) and drive circuit. The infrared radiation head mainly includes an infrared heater and a temperature sensor. This novel infrared mild moxibustion device is easy to operate. The electrothermal heating tablet can generate infrared radiation of 3 000-13 000 nm. After the temperature of the infrared heater is stabilized, the range of temperature change is ±0.50 ℃, realizing the goal of precise temperature control. In addition, it can operate moxibustion treatment at multiple acupoints at the same time, which is conducive to the dose-effect evaluation of mild moxibustion.

Data mining-based detection of the clinical effect on motion style acupuncture therapy combined with conventional acupuncture therapy in chronic neck pain.

BACKGROUND: Neck pain is the most common symptom of cervical spondylosis. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the indications for conventional acupuncture therapy (CAT) and motion style acupuncture therapy (MSAT) combined with CAT in neck pain patients using data mining. METHOD: Seventy-six participants with neck pain were recruited and randomly divided into two paralleled groups. Participants in intervention group received two-course MSAT at Houxi (SI3) and CAT at local neck region, while the control group received CAT at neck only. Take the SF-36 score scale and pain pressure threshold (PPT) values as the raw data and use data-mining to evaluate the clinical effect of two treatments. RESULT: Both groups have the best effect after one-time and one-course treatment. The main factors influencing effect most are Role-Emotional (RE), Physical Functioning (PF) and Social Functioning (SF) in intervention group, while it transfers to General Health (GH), RE and SF in control group. To patients in intervention group who scores 41.70 to 68.70 in PF before treatment, MSAT can effectively improve the restriction of activities and play an analgesic effect; to patients in control group who score 56.09 to 66.09 in GH before treatment, CAT may have curative effect. CONCLUSION: Both MSAT and CAT can improve the life-quality of neck pain patients. Patients with high general health status before treatment can choose CAT, while patients who score mild to moderate decline in physiological function can choose MSAT combined with CAT.

[Development of teaching training and assessment system for warming acupuncture].

A teaching training and assessment system for warming acupuncture is developed. This system is suitable for the technique operation of multi-acupoint warming acupuncture, and could evaluate the training effects of warming acupuncture at each acupoint. The hardware structure of this system is mainly composed of man-machine interface, control unit and training unit. The software program includes reset module, system clock module, needle depth signal control module, vibration control module and communication module. The teaching training and assessment system of warming acupuncture adopted touch-screen human-machine interface, which is simple to operate. The basic training unit, through multi-angle and multi-dimension adjustment of universal base, could realize the simulation training of warming acupuncture at different acupoints and angles of human body. Each training unit is relatively independent, and relevant parameters are set separately; the relevant parameters information is displayed in real time. The parameters of training unit includes needling time, vibration frequency and vibration time. In conclusion, the teaching training and assessment system for warming acupuncture could be used in the teaching and assessment of warming acupuncture. According to the criteria including operation time and effect, the students' technique ability of warming acupuncture could be evaluated objectively, which is helpful to set teaching objectives and technical operation requirements in warming acupuncture teaching.