The association between viscera and the body surface remains obscure, but a better understanding of it will maximize its diagnostic and therapeutic values in clinical practice. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the specificity of the association between viscera and the body surface in the pathological state.
Study subjects included 40 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) participants in the COPD group and 40 age-matched healthy participants in the healthy control group. Laser doppler flowmetry, infrared thermography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy were respectively adopted to measure (1) the perfusion unit (PU), (2) temperature, and (3) regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) of 4 specific somatic sites distributing in the heart and lung meridians. These 3 outcome measures reflected the microcirculatory, thermal and metabolic characteristics of the body surface, respectively.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
80
the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Perfusion unit
Perfusion unit of acupuncture points is measured by Laser doppler flowmetry
Time frame: Baseline
Temperature
Temperature of acupuncture points is measured by infrared thermography
Time frame: Baseline
Regional oxygen saturation
Regional oxygen saturation of acupuncture points is measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy
Time frame: Baseline
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