Effects of acupuncture at the Hoku acupoint on the pulsatile laser Doppler signal at the heartbeat frequency.
We aimed to assess the effects of acupuncture by analyzing the alternating current (AC) component of skin blood-flow signals (around the heartbeat frequency) simultaneously recorded at the Hoku acupoint, which is an important acupoint in oriental medicine, and two nearby non-acupoints following acupuncture stimulation (AS). Laser Doppler flowmetry signals were measured in 28 experiments on nine volunteers. Each experiment involved the recording of a 20-min control-data sequence and two sets of effects data recorded 0-20 min and 50-70 min after the AS had been stopped. The direct current (DC) and AC components (DCflux and ACflux, respectively), pulse width (PW), and foot delay time (FDT) of the flux signal were calculated. The DCflux, ACflux, PW, and FDT were all significantly increased only at Hoku following AS. Regression analysis between the DCflux and ACflux revealed that the slope was largest (>1) at Hoku among the measurement sites. Our results indicated that both the DCflux and ACflux in the microcirculatory perfusion were increased by stimulation at the Hoku acupoint, with the change being greatest for the latter. Parameters calculated from the pulsatile flux waveform, such as the PW and FDT, could contribute to noninvasive evaluations of the sympathetic neural activities and of the improvement in perfusion following AS.
Hsiu
Hsin
H
Department of Electrical Engineering, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC. hhsiu@saturn.yzu.edu.tw
Hsu
Wei-Chen
WC
Hsu
Chia-Liang
CL
Jan
Ming-Yie
MY
Wang-Lin
Yuh-Ying
YY
D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006225:Hand; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology*; D011674:Pulse; D055815:Young Adult
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