Followers of acupuncture claim the alternative treatment can eliminate pain and treat conditions ranging from depression to addiction to food poisonings. Yet it has always been hard to gauge acupuncture’s efficacy, especially in real time, as the individual is being treated.
New technology created at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) intends to make acupuncture more effective by matching needles with tiny polyester patches outfitted with silicon chips and wireless modern technology. KAIST scientists state this “wise acupuncture” system can track person actions in real time– through basic software– at an inexpensive of around $10.
” Experts remove their needles after half an hour, but there is no chance to quantify the high quality of therapy.”
ad
KAIST student Kiseok Song thought up wise acupuncture while taking care of a football injury. He obtained electro-acupuncture, which incorporates acupuncture and also electrical excitement, on his ankle joint but, as a scientific research and design student might be, was discouraged by the absence of objective information concerning the treatment.
In conventional electro-acupuncture, which was promoted in the 1970s, wires run from an external power supply and also attach to acupuncture needles with clips. Acupuncturists make use of the wires to provide electrical stimulation by means of the needles. The electric present gets rid of the demand to manually snap or turn acupuncture needles to maximize the therapy’s effects. However some perfectionists grumble that the weight of the clips and also wires can flex as well as move slim acupuncture needles. And also the many components make the total system bulky and also pricy.
Song had currently been establishing electro-acupuncture technology for his electrical engineering PhD In 2010, he decided to use his engineering skills to show the “real-time standing” of a patient’s electro-acupuncture therapy.
After two years of tinkering, Track came up with a smart acupuncture system that changes electro-acupuncture’s hefty cables, clips, and outside power supply with wirelessly connected patches. Professionals position the light-weight patches wherever they desire to treat their individuals as well as link the spots to acupuncture needles through conductive thread as well as Velcro. Tiny batteries on the spots power the needles through integrated circuits, transforming them right into electrical needles. The patches, which have to do with the size of a dollar coin, wirelessly gauge the people’ responses and send out data to tracking programs that work on a smart device or computer.
The objective is to update acupuncture in such a way that maintains its fundamental technique. Applications range from clinical therapies (discomfort alleviation, muscle conditions, anxious conditions, skin diseases) to non-medical (obesity and also skin care). “Routine acupuncture is very one-sided,” notes KAIST Teacher Hoi-Jun Yoo, who manages Song’s research study. “Practitioners eliminate their needles after half an hour, but there is no chance to evaluate the high quality of therapy.”
In this new smart acupuncture, both experts as well as individuals can obtain data responses. Each spot features a multimodal sensing unit designed by Song that gauges electromyography (EMG), the electrical task of muscles. Acupuncturists can monitor their clients’ EMG signals and also body temperature on computer systems or phones as well as customize the electric existing to accomplish the preferred result; individuals can see that the needles are having some actual physical result. Yoo and also Song claim the real-time monitoring must likewise make electro-acupuncture more secure and a lot more effective than ever.
Smart acupuncture will additionally be much cheaper than present electro-acupuncture. Traditional electro-acupuncture counts on control gaming consoles to take care of the needles’ electrical voltage. Those controllers usually cost around $1,000, according to Yoo. He says the clever acupuncture system, which replaces controllers with wireless control software program, will certainly set you back regarding $10 per patch.
To even more drive down expenses, Tune’s EMG tracking software program can replace the pricy oscilloscopes acupuncturists typically utilize to present EMG signals. And given that the clever acupuncture patch has a removable battery and also a covered chip, it is waterproof and also could be re-used by the very same individual.
” Individuals usually consider semiconductor modern technology as extremely sophisticated but this is a friendly application.”
The affordable and high portability of clever acupuncture has Yoo and Song hoping for worldwide fostering. For maximum power efficiency and also cost, clever acupuncture utilizes the body (as opposed to wireless innovations like Bluetooth or Zigbee) to beam, a communication method known as body location network or body network communication. The arrangement makes it possible to provide electro-acupuncture without unique centers, which might make it attractive to establishing nations and brand-new practitioners.
Yoo contends that a number of acupuncturists will see the advantages, regardless of age or race, because the system is easy to use. “People normally think about semiconductor modern technology as extremely innovative yet this is a pleasant application,” he claims. Though acupuncture is still most widespread in East Asian countries like China as well as Korea, Yoo and Song say they have actually received queries regarding the system from the U.S. and also Europe. The united state is estimated to have greater than 10,000 certified acupuncturists.
Prevalent access to smart acupuncture is a few months off, as KAIST is still negotiating exactly how to mass-produce the elements. Yoo says the institution is speaking to business partners consisting of acupuncture needle makers and expects the system to be commercialized quickly.
So this appears to be the way that contemporary technology is going to go together with an ancient technique like acupuncture
( βελονισμος αθηνα) which is used in many treaments like to quit smoking cigarettes (βελονισμος διακοπη καπνισματος) or weight management
( βελονισμος αδυνατισμα).