RU1806724C - Method and device for estimating electrophysiological state of acupuncture points - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to medicine, namely to reflexology, and can be used in electrophysiology in assessing the condition of acupuncture points. The purpose of the invention is to improve accuracy. The method is carried out as follows. After passing the test current, the current obtained as a result of the test is measured, and the electrophysiological assessment is carried out by the integral value of the transient current flowing in the electrode circuit from the moment of their connection to the moment when the transient current decreases to 10% 4 from the maximum value state of acupuncture points. A device for assessing the electrophysiological state of acupuncture points relates to medicine and can be used in electrophysiology. The aim of the invention is to improve the accuracy of the assessment of the electrophysiological state of an acupuncture point. The device contains an active electrode 1, a current source 2, a passive electrode 3, a recorder 4, a current-voltage converter 5, a peak detector 6, a divider 7, a comparator 8, keys 9,11,12.13, a timer 10. 2 cf -ly, 4 ill., 2 tablets ate with

Description

The invention relates to the field of medicine, namely to reflexology and can be used in assessing the condition of acupuncture points.

The aim of the invention is to improve the accuracy of the assessment of the electrophysiological state of TA,

The essence of the proposed set of operations is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Active (3) and passive (4) electrodes are installed on the studied TA (1) and the base skin area (2), respectively, which are connected to a current source (5) for a certain period of time, giving a given value of current lo, then the current is stopped, a short-circuited TA circuit 1 — electrode 3 — electrode 4 — skin region 2 is formed between the TA and the base skin region, and the transient current in (t) flowing in the newly formed short-circuited circuit is measured (see FIG. 4).

Figure 2 presents the time diagrams of the currents flowing in the TA during periods of time when the electrodes are connected to a current source (Fig, 2A) and when they are short-circuited with each other (Fig, 2b). Curves 1, 2, and 3 were obtained at various electrophysiological states of TA.

The method is implemented as follows.

A passive electrode with a contact area of at least 5 cm is installed on the base area of the skin. The palm surface is chosen as the latter, which is due to the convenience of long-term fixation of a large-area electrode; it is known that with large areas of a passive electrode, the place of its application practically does not affect the measurement results. An active electrode, the area of which is selected commensurate with the area of the skin projection of the investigated TA (for corporal TA - not more than 0.5 cm, for auri.kulular TA - not more than 1 mm2), is installed on the studied TA. Then, an electric current of a predetermined value is passed through the electrodes for a certain period of time. The current value is selected in the range of 5-60 μA. The limitation of the test current value to 60 microamps is due to the fact that higher currents flowing through TA in biological tissues can exhibit morphological changes of a destructive nature. The use of a measuring current of less than 5 μA dramatically complicates the measuring equipment. The exposure time is chosen within 10-150 ms, since in the first few

milliseconds after the electric current is turned on in the epidermis and dermis, relaxation polarization processes occur due to the spatial redistribution of charge carriers in the skin (migration of charge carriers by macroscopic distances) and, moreover, this condition is dictated by the inertia of the measuring equipment. At time

however, exposures of more than 150 ms in TA-the adaptation processes associated with the exposure have begun to start (TA reaction).

Immediately after the cessation of the test current, between the TA and the base

A short-circuited chain is formed on the skin site. In this case, transient processes appear in it, which are damped electrical vibrations. In the period of time when the current is stopped and a short-circuit is formed, in the latter the integral value of the transient current is measured. This parameter characterizes the ability of the TA to return to the original

5 (before exposure) the electrophysical state after a standard testing electrical exposure. In addition, according to the parameters of the transition process with appropriate mathematical processing

0, it is possible to evaluate the parameters of the components of the equivalent electrical circuit of the local skin area in the TA region.

Examples of specific performance are given in table. 1.

5 In comparison with the prototype, the proposed method has the following advantages: when using the proposed method, it measures non-static parameters (the resistance of the TA-passive section

0 electrode), and more informative dynamic parameters (estimate the amplitude and time of transient establishment). Great informativeness due to the fact that the assessment of electrophysiological

5 states are made according to the parameters of the transition process observed when the TA returns from the state of irritation to the state when the potential difference between the electrodes tends to zero. The transient process makes it possible to integrally evaluate the values characterizing the resistance, capacitance, constant potential of the TA and its change under the influence of electric current. With appropriate mathematical processing of the transient curve, it is possible to differential assessment of individual components in accordance with the adopted equivalent electrical circuit of TA ; dynamic parameters more

reliable and informative than drifting static. The value of static parameters is a characteristic purely individual for a given organism. Dynamic parameters, although they also have elements of personality, more objectively reflect the state of the system associated with this TA. Thus, studies have shown that when a current of 20 µA is applied to the TA for 15 ms, the integral value of the transient current of an unexcited TA is 0.1-0.3 μA. In an excited TA, the integral value of the transient current reached 8–9 μA or more. Moreover, depending on the electrophysiological state, in individual TAs, both an increase and a decrease in the readings of the recorder (i.e., current values) can be observed over time. Thus, the proposed method makes it possible to evaluate the change in the dynamic parameters of a TA under the influence of an external electric current, which objectively characterizes its adaptive properties; when a short-circuited circuit is formed between the electrodes, the influence of numerous low-power interference on the measurement results is significantly reduced, since they turn out to be shorted in this case: measurements performed using a device that implements the proposed method showed that the results obtained are less dependent on surface preparation skin than the results obtained using other methods. Thus, in particular, the abundant wetting of the skin surface with saline in the area of contact with the active electrode, which, when using other methods, changes the readings of the measuring device several times, while using the proposed method only slightly changes the readings of the steady state. Table 2 shows the discrepancy between the results obtained on dry and wet skin when using the proposed method and the prototype method in the study of the electrophysiological state of representative TA of the upper limbs.

At the same time, the parameters of the adaptation process (the time during which the parameters of the transition process change) vary somewhat. This is quite understandable and reflects a change in the physical properties of the skin near TA during its wetting.

Thus, the accuracy of the assessment of the electrophysiological state of TA increases in this case by 11-25 times.

Devices that implement known methods related to measuring the resistance or conductivity of a TA include: an electric current source 5, two conductive electrodes connected to a current or voltage source, and a meter that measures the current or voltage TA. The type of meter depends on the parameters of the source. If the output impedance of the source is high, a voltage meter is used that connects to the electrodes in parallel. If the output resistance of the current source is low (EMF source), then a current meter is used as a meter, which is included in the open circuit of one of the electrodes.

The proposed method can be implemented using a device whose structure0 is shown in FIG. The device contains an active. Electrode 1, a current source 2, the first output of which is connected to a passive electrode 3, the first input of the recorder 4 and the common bus 5.

Connected in series with a current-voltage converter 5, a peak detector b, a divider 7, a comparator 8, and a first switch 9, the output of which is connected to the second

0 by the input of the recorder 4. timer 10, second key 11, third key 12, fourth key 13, the control inputs of which are connected to the output of timer 10, the first contacts to the common bus, the second contacts of the second key 11 and the third key 12 to the active electrode 1, the switched contacts of the second key 11 to the second input of the current source 2, the third key 12 and the fourth key 13 to the first inputs, respectively, of the current-voltage converter 5 and divider 7, the second inputs of which are connected to a common bus and the second input peak detector 6, the first input of which is connected ene to second inputs of the first switch and the comparator 9

5 8.

The device operates as follows.

When the keys are in position a, the active and passive electrodes 1 and 3

0 are connected to a current source and an electric current of a predetermined value, determined by the parameters of current source 2, flows through the base area of the skin. At this time, the current-voltage converter 5 is disconnected from the active electrode 1.

After a certain period of time determined by the timer 10, the keys 11,12,13 are synchronously transferred to position b. In this case, the source 2 is shorted by the key 11 ,. and electrodes 1 and

2 using a key 12 are closed to each other through a low input resistance of the converter 5, the current voltage from the output of which a voltage proportional to the current in the electrode circuit is supplied to the input of the peak detector 6 of the comparator 8 and key 9. The maximum value of this voltage is stored at the output peak detector 6 is divided by 10 by divider 7 and is supplied to the second input of comparator 8 as a reference. So far, the voltage from the output of converter 5, proportional to the current value of the transient current, exceeds 10% of its m at the maximum level, from the output of the comparator 8 to the control input of the first switch 9, a high level of control voltage is supplied, and the input of the recorder 4 is connected to the output of the converter 5 current-voltage through the closed contacts of the first key 9. As soon as the voltage at the output of the converter 5 the current voltage will decrease by 10 times compared with the maximum value at the output of peak detector 6, low voltage will be supplied from the output of comparator 8 to the control input of the first switch 9, and the recorder will be disconnected from the output l 5 current voltage.

After a certain period of time determined by timers 10, the keys 11,12,13 are again synchronously transferred to position a and the test current is again applied to the acupuncture point. In this case, the maximum value is reset from the output of the peak detector 6 by shorting it to a common bus via the fourth key 13.

After a period of time determined by timer 10, the measurement cycle is repeated.

The device allows to increase the accuracy of assessing the electrophysiological state of an acupuncture point by 10-25 times.

Claims (2)

1. A method for assessing the electrophysiological state of acupuncture points, including installing active and passive electrodes respectively on the studied acupuncture point and the base area of the skin, passing a pulse of a test electrical signal through them, and measuring the results obtained, characterized in that, in order to improve accuracy , the acupuncture point under study is affected by a current pulse with an amplitude of 5-60 μA, a duration of 10-150 ms, after the exposure is stopped, the electrodes are electrically connected to each other and measure transient current in the circuit acupuncture point - active electrode - passive electrode - base skin area, the state is assessed by the integral value of the transient current, measured from the moment the transient begins to the moment when the transient current value is 10% of the maximum value, in this case, if the integral value of the transient current is in the range from 0 to 2% of the amplitude of the test pulse, then the state of the acupuncture point is assessed as inhibited, at The integral value of the transient current is from 2 to 10% of the amplitude of the test pulse, the state is evaluated as conditionally indifferent, if the integral value of the transient current is more than 10% of the amplitude of the test signal, the state of the acupuncture point is evaluated as excited. 2. Device for assessing the electrophysiological state of acupuncture points, containing an active electrode, a source current, the first output of which is connected to a passive electrode, the first input of the recorder and the common bus, characterized in that, in order to improve the accuracy of the assessment of the electrophysiological state acupuncture points, contains a series-connected current-voltage converter, a peak detector, a divider, a comparator and a first key, the output of which is connected to the second input of the recorder, timer, second, third and fourth keys, the control inputs of which are connected to the timer output, the first contacts to the common bus, the second contacts of the second and third keys to the active electrode, the switched contacts of the second key to the second output of the current source, third and fourth keys - to the first inputs, respectively, of the current-voltage converter to the divider, the second inputs of which are connected with a common bus and a second input of the peak detector, the first input of which is connected to the second inputs of the first key and comparator. Table 1 table 2 G B G 6