Research Article A Correlation Study between Two Adjacent Same-Meridian Acupoints after Laser ...

14 Pages·2016·4.62 MB·English

Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2016, Article ID 7482587, 14 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7482587
Research Article
A Correlation Study between Two Adjacent Same-Meridian
Acupoints after Laser-Needle Acupuncture with Optical
Coherence Tomography and Diffuse Reflectance Spectra
XiuliWu,1HuajiangWei,1ZhouyiGuo,1YirongNi,1ZhimingLiu,1
HongqinYang,2ShusenXie,2andLianpengZhou1
1MOEKeyLaboratoryofLaserLifeScience&SATCMThirdGradeLaboratoryofChineseMedicineandPhotonicsTechnology,
CollegeofBiophotonics,SouthChinaNormalUniversity,Guangzhou510631,China
2KeyLaboratoryofOptoelectronicScienceandTechnologyforMedicineofMinistryofEducationofChina,
FujianNormalUniversity,Fuzhou350007,Fujian,China
CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoZhouyiGuo;[email protected]
Received16March2016;Revised25July2016;Accepted3August2016
AcademicEditor:ThomasLundeberg
Copyright©2016XiuliWuetal.ThisisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense,which
permitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited.
ThisstudyistoinvestigatethecorrelationsamongSanjian(LI3),Hegu(LI4),andYangxi(LI5)acupointsandtheircorresponding
nonacupoints on the Yangming Large Intestine Meridian of Hand before and after laser irradiation using optical coherence
tomography(OCT)anddiffusereflectancespectra.Theexperimentwasconductedon10healthypeople.A658nmlaserwith
50mWoutputpowerwasusedforirradiatingLI4,LI5acupointsandtheircorrespondingnonacupoints.AstoLI4acupointwith
laser irradiation for duration of 15 or 45 minutes, the OCT backscattered light intensities of LI4 and LI5 acupoints increased
significantly,andthereflectanceintensities(RIs)oftheLI3,LI4,andLI5acupointsdecreasedsignificantly.AstoLI5acupoint
withlaserirradiationfordurationof15or45minutes,thechangesofOCTbackscatteredlightintensitiesofthecorresponding
irradiatedacupointandLI4acupointincreasedsignificantly,andtheRIsdecreasedsignificantly.However,theOCTbackscattered
lightintensitiesandRIsfortheirnonacupointswerealmostnotchanged.Theresultsshowthatanassociationexistsbetweentwo
adjacentsame-meridianacupointsonthesamemeridianafterlaser-needleacupuncturetosomeextent.
1.Introduction toirradiateacupoints[4].Althoughtheclinicaleffectiveness
of laser acupuncture has been confirmed, its mechanism
Meridians play a very important role in the traditional remainsunclear.Manystudieshavereportedthatthetherapy
Chinesemedicine.Theyaresupposedtochannelsomekind effectsoflaseracupunctureareverysimilartothetraditional
ofsubstance,energy,orinformationthatiscalled“qi”inthe acupunctureforalotofdiseasesandbetterforsomediseases
traditionalChinese medical literature. Experts and scholars [5–8]. In particular, the risk of contracting AIDS or other
fromChinaandabroaddidalotofresearchesonmeridians infectious diseases is absent. Moreover, the technique does
forrecentdecadesandproposedmanyassumptionsaboutthe not need sophisticated instruments, which makes it more
meridian theory. Acupuncture hypothesis in the traditional widelyusedindevelopingcountries[9–11].Themechanism
Chinese medicine has achieved a great success in clinical oflaseracupuncturewasresearchedbyallkindsofmodern
applications and has also begun to gain acceptance in the techniquesinrecentyears,suchastheelectricity,ultrasound,
West[1–3].Inrecentyears,laseracupuncturewithcharacter- and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [11–15]. Among
isticssuchaspainless,noninvasive,andlowriskofinfection them, the electricity technique was the most widely used
compared with the traditional acupuncture have appeared technique [16–19]. These methods can reveal the existence
andtakenintoclinicalapplicationswherealaserbeamisused of meridian and its properties to certain extent. However,
2 Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine
Yangxi (LI5)
LI5nonacupoint
LI4nonacupoint Hegu (LI4)
LI3nonacupoint
Sanjian (LI3)
Figure1:Thelocationsofacupointandnonacupoint.“Reddot”showsthelocationofnonacupointofthecorrespondingacupoint.
these techniques have their own specific shortcomings. For researchthecharacteristicsofopticalspectrumbetweenadja-
example,theresolutionsoftheultrasoundandMRIarenot centacupointsonthesamemeridianbylaserirradiations.
high, which limits their applications in laser acupuncture LI3,LI4,andLI5acupointsarelocatedontheYangming
mechanism exploration, although they are noninvasive [4]. Large Intestine Meridian of Hand (Figure 1). The distance
between acupoint and its corresponding nonacupoint was
Tothebestofourknowledge,opticaltechniquescanobtain
10mm on the ulnar side of corresponding acupoint. LI4 is
high-resolutionphysicalstructuresoftissuesandtheirfunc-
locatedonthehighestspotofthemusclewhenthethumband
tional information noninvasively. Some studies about the
indexfingersarebroughtclosetogether.LI4isclinicallyused
opticaltechniqueswerereportedinrecentyears.Forexample,
forstress,facialpain,headaches,toothaches,andneckpain.
Huang et al. [4] had studied changes of optical attenuation
TheancienttraditionalChinesemedicinetextincludesawide
coefficientsofacupointsduringlaseracupuncturebyoptical
rangeofindicationsforLI4fromheadachesandconstipation
coherence tomography (OCT). Yang et al. [20] had studied
togeneralpainanddelayedlabor.LI4isapointthathasbeen
differences in optical transport properties between human
extensivelystudiedthroughrandomizedcontrolledtrialsand
meridian and nonmeridian. Chen et al. [21] have studied
clinicalresearch.RecentstudiesfromtheJournalofOrofacial
the light wave transport characteristics variation along the PainshowedthatthestimulationofLI4significantlyreduced
pericardiummeridianunderdifferentpressures.Theoptical myofascialpainofthejawmuscles[24].ArecentCochrane
signalonthemeridianisstrongerthanthenonmeridian.The systematicreviewonacupunctureinmigraineandtension-
optical signal attenuates slower when it transported along type headaches suggests stimulation of LI4 acupoint as an
meridians.Thehumanmeridiansmaybethegoodpathway effective and valuable option for alleviating migraines and
forlightwaveswithcertainwavelengths.Thatistosaylight tension-typeheadaches[25].Withaloosefist,LI3islocated
waveswithcertainwavelengthscantransportandbeblocked on the radial side of the index finger, in the depression
along meridian direction, when they irritate the meridians, proximal to the second metacarpophalangeal joint. LI3 is
oracupointsafterexcludingtheinfluenceofhumananatomy clinicallyusedforswollen,sorethroat,fever,andtoothaches.
structure, which verified again the objective existence of LI5 is situated in the transverse crease of the radial side of
thewrist,betweenthehollowofthetendonoftheextensor
meridianstransportingandthepossibilityofblockingfrom
pollicislongusandbrevis.LI5isusedtotreatpaininthewrist,
theopticalview.Inordertodiscussspecificityofacupuncture
headache,toothache,andswollenandsorethroat.
on the response of qi and blood in human body, Jiang et
Zhou et al. [26] studied the effects of titanium dioxide
al.[22]comparedthediffusereflectanceofTaichong(LV3),
nanoparticlescoupledwithdiodelaseronopticalproperties
Taibai(SP3),andChongyang(ST42)before,during,andafter
ofinvitronormalandcanceroushumanlungtissuesstudied
menstruation.Theexperimentaldatasuggestedthatlightin
with OCT and diffuse reflectance spectra. In this paper, a
a certain wavelength may propagate along the pericardium
scheme was designed to explore the differences of optical
meridiancomparedtothenonmeridiandirection.Zhonget
spectraandOCTbackscatteredlightintensitiesbetweenthe
al. [23] used OCT images to distinguish human acupoint LI4acupointanditsadjacentacupointsaftera658nmlaser
from nonacupoint after irradiation with laser in vivo. The irradiationinvivo.Theexperimentalresultsshowedthatan
results of the study showed significant differences between association exists between adjacent acupoints on the same
LaogongacupointandnonacupointtissuesintheOCTsignal meridiantosomeextent.Thismethodwouldbeveryhelpful
intensity.Thesestudiesdiscoveredthepropertiesofacupoint in further research of specificity of acupoint and clinical
and meridian by laser irradiation. However, they did not applicationsforlaser-needleacupuncture.
Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine 3
(a) (b)
Figure2:Experimentalsetups:(a)opticalfiberspectrometer;(b)commercialspectraldomainOCT(SD-OCT)system.
2.MaterialsandMethods transverseresolutionof15𝜇minfreespace.Two-dimensional
(2D) images are obtained by scanning the incident beam
2.1. Participants. Ten healthy participants (5 males, 5 overthesamplesurfaceinthelateraldirectionandin-depth
females)wererecruitedfromSouthChinaNormalUniversity (A-scan) scanning by the interferometer. OCT images were
[meanage±standarddeviation(SD),(22.0±2.0)years].The acquired over a period of 240min in 1-minute intervals to
subjectshadnohistoryofchronicdiseaseandwerehealthyat recordtransientchangesofopticaltissueproperties.
thetimeofenrollment.Thepositionsofacupointsweredeter-
minedaccordingtotheNationalStandardofChina“Location
2.3. Experimental Procedures. The experimental measure-
of Acupoints” (GB 12346-90) [27]. The distance between
ments were performed in a dark room, and the room tem-
acupointanditscorrespondingnonacupointwas10mmon peraturewaskeptat(25.0±5.0)∘Candtherelativehumidity
theulnarsideofcorrespondingacupoint.Theexperimental at65% ± 15%duringthemeasurements.Thelaserirradiation
protocol was approved by the Laboratory of Photonic
pointswerecleanedandlabeledbeforetheexperimentwith
ChineseMedicine,MinistryofEducationKeyLaboratoryof
the help of an acupuncturist. To reduce the measurement
LaserLifeScienceandInstituteofLaserLifeScience,South
error induced by the movement of the subject arm, each
China Normal University. All subjects agreed to participate
subject was made to sit on a chair with arms fixed in a
inthestudyandprovidedwritteninformedconsent.
comfortable position using the cellophane tape during the
experiment. The measurements of reflectance spectra and
2.2.ExperimentalSetup. Thereflectancespectraofacupoints OCTimagingoftheacupointsandnonacupointsweremea-
weremeasuredusingacommercialopticalfiberspectrometer suredbeforeandat2,30,and60minutesafterlaserirradiated
(Figure2(a))(OceanOptics,USA,model:USB4000)inthe for duration of 15 minutes or 45 minutes, separately. Each
spectral range 200 to 1100nm. The tungsten halogen light measuredpointofasubjectwasirradiatedonlyonceaday,
source (Ocean Optics, USA, model: LS-450) served as a andothermeasuredpointsofthesubjectwereirradiatedon
source of light. The fiber-optic probe (Ocean Optics, USA, thenextday,andsoon.Thetemperaturesofacupointsand
model:USB4000)consistingofsevenfiberswiththeinternal nonacupointsweremeasuredinthecorrespondingtime.
diameter400𝜇mandthenumericalaperture0.2wasusedin
themeasurements.Thecentralfiberwasservedforcollecting 2.4.StatisticalAnalysis. Datafromallsampleswerepresented
the diffuse reflected radiation, while the surrounding six as means ± SD and analyzed using the SPSS 16.0 software
fibers were used for the illumination of the sample. The paired-test.The𝑃value<0.05indicatedasignificantdiffer-
probe was placed at the distance of 2mm from the sample ence.
surface and registered the signal, averaged over the area of
theradiationcollection.Thespectrawerecalibratedagainst 3.Results
aDRstandardofBaSO4 withasmoothsurface.Allspectra
measurementswererecordedwiththeintegrationtimesetto Tenhealthysubjects(5males,5females)weretestedinthis
100ms. The measurements were recorded and stored into a study.Allsubjectsweremeasuredunderthesameexperimen-
computerforthefurtherpostprocessing[26]. talconditions,andmeasurementofeachpoint(acupointor
Theexperimentswereimplementedusingacommercial nonacupoint)wasrepeatedsixtimesandaveraged.InFigures
spectraldomainOCT(SD-OCT)system(Figure2(b))(Shen- 2and3,wecanseethattheshapesofthespectralcurvesfor
zhenMOPTIMImagingTechniqueCo.,Ltd.,China)working variousmeasuredpointsaresimilar,andthetroughsofeach
atthecentralwavelength830±40nmwithanopticalpower curveatthewavelengthsof422,544,577,and980nmarenot
of 5mW, a maximum image depth of 1.6mm, a signal-to- changed. All the curves descend to the lowest at 2 minutes
noiseratioof120dB,andalengthofscannedareaof3mm. afterirradiationcomparedwiththecurvebeforeirradiation.
The SD-OCT system, determined by the focal spot size of It means that the maximum reduction value of RIs existed
theprobebeam,providesanaxialresolutionof12𝜇manda at 2 minutes after the laser irradiation. Then the RIs of the
4 Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine
y (%) 50 y (%) 50 y (%) 50 y (%) 50
nsit 40 nsit 40 nsit 40 nsit 40
nte 30 nte 30 nte 30 nte 30
nce i 20 nce i 20 nce i 20 nce i 20
flecta 10 flecta 10 flecta 10 flecta 10
Re Re Re Re
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 1 1 1
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
LI4acupoint, before LI5acupoint, before LI4nonacupoint, before LI5nonacupoint, before
LI4acupoint,2min LI5acupoint,2min LI4nonacupoint,2min LI5nonacupoint,2min
LI4acupoint,30min LI5acupoint,30min LI4nonacupoint,30min LI5nonacupoint,30min
LI4acupoint,60min LI5acupoint,60min LI4nonacupoint,60min LI5nonacupoint,60min
(a) (b) (c) (d)
nsity (%) 4500 nsity (%) 4500 nsity (%) 4500 nsity (%) 4500
nte 30 nte 30 nte 30 nte 30
nce i 20 nce i 20 nce i 20 nce i 20
Reflecta 10 Reflecta 10 Reflecta 10 Reflecta 10
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
LI4acupoint, before LI5acupoint, before LI4nonacupoint, before LI5nonacupoint, before
LI4acupoint,2min LI5acupoint,2min LI4nonacupoint,2min LI5nonacupoint,2min
LI4acupoint,30min LI5acupoint,30min LI4nonacupoint,30min LI5nonacupoint,30min
LI4acupoint,60min YXacupoint,60min LI4nonacupoint,60min LI5nonacupoint,60min
(e) (f) (g) (h)
Figure3:Reflectancespectraofthetwoacupointsandtheirnonacupointsbeforeand2,30,and60minutesaftertheLI4acupointwas
irradiatedbya658nmlaserfor15minutesand45minutes.ThetoprowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottom
rowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor45minutes:(a)and(e)LI4acupoint;(b)and(f)LI5acupoint;(c)and(g)LI4nonacupoint;
(d)and(h)LI5nonacupoint.
measured spectra increased and almost rose to the same minutesand45minutesat2minutes,asshowninFigure4.
amplitudes at 60min after the laser irradiation compared After LI4 acupoint was irradiated for 15 or 45 minutes, 𝑅
withthespectracurvebeforetheirradiation. valuesbetweenRIoftheLI5acupointandRIofLI4acupoint
Figure3showstheRIsamongmeasuredpoints,including are0.92and0.98,respectively.Andthe𝑃valueswere<5%.
the two acupoints on the same meridian and their corre- While𝑅valuesbetweenRIoftheLI4nonacupointandRIof
sponding reference nonacupoints, before and after the LI4 LI4 acupoint are 0.44 and 0.47, 𝑅 values between RI of the
acupoint was irradiated by a 658nm laser at 2, 30, and
LI5 nonacupoint and RI of LI4 acupoint are 0.48 and 0.41,
60min for durations of 15 and 45 minutes, respectively. respectively.The𝑅valuesindicatethatthereisacorrelation
To quantitatively analyze the RI characteristics of the two
betweenLI5acupointandLI4acupoint,andthecorrelation
acupointsandtheirnonacupointsaftertheLI4acupointwas
betweentwononacupointsandLI4acupointisveryweak.
irradiated for different durations (15 and 45 minutes), the
Figure 5 illustrates the dynamic changes of reflectance
maximumreductionvaluesoftheirRIsatfourtroughswere
spectra of the LI4 and LI5 acupoints as a function of time
evaluated and shown in Table 1. The maximum reduction
elapsedbeforeandaftertheLI5acupointwasirradiatedat2,
valuesofRIsofthethreeacupointsaftertheLI4acupointwith
30, and60minutesfor15and45minutes,respectively.The
laserirradiationfordurationof45minuteswerelargerthan
thoseaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes,but RI change of the LI5 acupoint is more obvious than that of
thedecreaseofRIsoftheirnonacupointswasnotremarkable. theLI4acupointaftertheLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor15
In the results in Figure 3, we calculated the correlation or45minutesat2minutes.Thedecreasedvaluesareshown
coefficient(𝑅)betweenRIofthenonirradiatedpointandthe in Table 2. Furthermore, the RI reduction values of the LI5
irradiated acupoint after LI4 acupoint was irradiated for 15 andLI4acupointsaftertheLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor45
Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine 5
40 %) 40 %) 40
nt (%) 35 oint ( 35 oint ( 35
5 acupoi 30 nonacup 30 nonacup 30
LI 25 4 25 5 25
y of of LI of LI
nce intensit 1250 e intensity 1250 e intensity 1250
flecta 10 ctanc 10 ctanc 10
Re 5 efle 5 efle 5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%)
(a) (b) (c)
40 %) 40 %) 40
nt (%) 35 oint ( 35 oint ( 35
5 acupoi 30 nonacup 30 nonacup 30
LI 25 4 25 5 25
y of of LI of LI
ctance intensit 112050 ance intensity 112050 ance intensity 112050
Refle 5 eflect 5 eflect 5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%)
(d) (e) (f)
Figure4:RIsofLI5acupoint,LI4nonacupoint,andLI5nonacupointversusRIoftheLI4acupointaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiated
at2minutes,respectively.ThetoprowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottomrowshowsthatLI4acupointwas
irradiatedfor45minutes:(a)𝑅=0.92,(b)𝑅=0.44,(c)𝑅=0.48,(d)𝑅=0.98,(e)𝑅=0.47,and(f)𝑅=0.41.
Table1:DecreaseofRIsoftheLI4,LI5acupointsandtheirnonacupointsaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15and45minutesat2
minutes,respectively.
Irradiationtime(15minutes) Irradiationtime(45minutes)
422.9nm 544.0nm 577.8nm 980.0nm 422.9nm 544.0nm 577.8nm 980.0nm
DecreaseofRI(%) DecreaseofRI(%)
LI4 8.15 10.86 10.77 7.20 12.58 13.22 12.11 7.91
LI5 4.49 3.86 3.63 4.68 5.50 4.72 5.55 5.53
LI4nonacupoint 1.37 2.50 2.53 1.31 1.71 2.49 2.59 1.57
LI5nonacupoint 2.33 3.17 2.96 1.78 1.75 2.37 2.36 1.53
Table2:DecreaseofRIsoftheLI5andLI4acupointsaftertheLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor15and45minutesat2minutes,respectively.
Irradiationtime(15minutes) Irradiationtime(45minutes)
422.9nm 544.0nm 577.8nm 980.0nm 422.9nm 544.0nm 577.8nm 980.0nm
DecreaseofRI(%) DecreaseofRI(%)
LI5 9.01 9.40 9.86 9.70 9.84 10.24 11.75 10.45
LI4 2.78 3.38 3.98 3.36 3.16 4.16 4.75 4.14
LI5nonacupoint 1.28 2.27 2.06 2.07 0.94 1.95 1.89 1.26
LI4nonacupoint 0.88 2.14 2.04 1.40 1.78 1.54 2.30 1.95
6 Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine
50 50 50 50
%) %) %) %)
y ( 40 y ( 40 y ( 40 y ( 40
nsit nsit nsit nsit
e e e e
nt 30 nt 30 nt 30 nt 30
e i e i e i e i
c c c c
n n n n
cta 20 cta 20 cta 20 cta 20
e e e e
fl fl fl fl
e e e e
R R R R
10 10 10 10
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 1 1 1
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
LI5acupoint, before LI4acupoint, before LI5nonacupoint, before LI4nonacupoint, before
LI5acupoint,2min LI4acupoint,2min LI5nonacupoint,2min LI4nonacupoint,2min
LI5acupoint,30min LI4acupoint,30min LI5nonacupoint,30min LI4nonacupoint,30min
LI5acupoint,60min LI4acupoint,60min LI5nonacupoint,60min LI4nonacupoint,60min
(a) (b) (c) (d)
50 50 50 50
%) %) %) %)
nsity ( 40 nsity ( 40 nsity ( 40 nsity ( 40
nce inte 30 nce inte 30 nce inte 30 nce inte 30
flecta 20 flecta 20 flecta 20 flecta 20
Re Re Re Re
10 10 10 10
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 1 1 1
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
LI5acupoint, before LI4acupoint, before LI5nonacupoint, before LI4nonacupoint, before
LI5acupoint,2min LI4acupoint,2min LI5nonacupoint,2min LI4nonacupoint,2min
LI5acupoint,30min LI4acupoint,30min LI5nonacupoint,30min LI4nonacupoint,30min
LI5acupoint,60min LI4acupoint,60min LI5nonacupoint,60min LI4nonacupoint,60min
(e) (f) (g) (h)
Figure5:Reflectancespectraofthetwoacupointsandtheirnonacupointsbeforeand2,30,and60minutesaftertheLI5acupointwas
irradiatedbya658nmlaserfor15minutesand45minutes.ThetoprowshowsthatLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottom
rowshowsthatLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor45minutes:(a)and(e)LI5acupoint;(b)and(f)LI4acupoint;(c)and(g)LI5nonacupoint;
(d)and(h)LI4nonacupoint.
minuteswereslightlylargerthanthoseafterirradiationfor15 indicate that there is a correlation between LI4 acupoint
minutes. and LI5 acupoint, and the strong correlation between two
In the results in Figure 5, we calculated the correlation nonacupointsandLI5acupointisveryweak.
coefficient(𝑅)betweenRIofthenonirradiatedpointandthe Figure7showstheRIsamongmeasuredpoints,including
irradiated acupoint after LI5 acupoint was irradiated for 15 LI4 and LI3 acupoints on the same meridian and their
minutesand45minutesat2minutes,asshowninFigure6. corresponding reference nonacupoints, before and after the
After LI5 acupoint was irradiated of 15 or 45 minutes, 𝑅 LI4 acupoint was irradiated by a 658nm laser at 2, 30,
valuesbetweenRIoftheLI4acupointandRIofLI5acupoint and60minfordurationsof15and45minutes,respectively.
are 0.99 and 0.96, respectively. And 𝑃 values were <5%. To quantitatively analyze the RI characteristics of the two
While 𝑅 values between RI of the LI5 nonacupoint and RI acupointsandtheirnonacupointsaftertheLI4acupointwas
of LI5 acupoint are 0.49 and 0.48, 𝑅 values between RI irradiated for different durations (15 and 45 minutes), the
of the LI4 nonacupoint and RI of LI5 acupoint are 0.40 maximumreductionvaluesoftheirRIsatfourtroughswere
and 0.31, respectively. Their 𝑃 values were >5%. The results evaluated and shown in Table 3. The maximum reduction
Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine 7
40 %) 40 %) 40
nt (%) 35 oint ( 35 oint ( 35
upoi 30 acup 30 acup 30
c n n
a o o
4 n n
LI 25 5 25 4 25
y of of LI of LI
ctance intensit 112050 ance intensity 112050 ance intensity 112050
Refle 5 eflect 5 eflect 5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Reflectance intensity of LI5 acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI5 acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI5 acupoint (%)
(a) (b) (c)
40 %) 40 %) 40
nt (%) 35 oint ( 35 oint ( 35
acupoi 30 onacup 30 onacup 30
4 n n
LI 25 5 25 4 25
y of of LI of LI
ctance intensit 112050 ance intensity 112050 ance intensity 112050
Refle 5 eflect 5 eflect 5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Reflectance intensity of LI5 acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI5 acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI5 acupoint (%)
(d) (e) (f)
Figure6:RIsofLI4acupoint,LI5nonacupoint,andLI4nonacupointversusRIoftheLI5acupointaftertheLI5acupointwasirradiated
at2minutes,respectively.ThetoprowshowsthatLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottomrowshowsthatLI5acupointwas
irradiatedfor45minutes:(a)𝑅=0.99,(b)𝑅=0.49,(c)𝑅=0.40,(d)𝑅=0.96,(e)𝑅=0.48,and(f)𝑅=0.31.
Table3:DecreaseofRIsoftheLI4,LI3acupointsandtheirnonacupointsaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15and45minutesat2
minutes,respectively.
Irradiationtime(15minutes) Irradiationtime(45minutes)
422.9nm 544.0nm 577.8nm 980.0nm 422.9nm 544.0nm 577.8nm 980.0nm
DecreaseofRI(%) DecreaseofRI(%)
LI4 8.15 10.86 10.77 7.20 12.58 13.22 12.11 7.91
LI3 3.75 3.94 4.79 3.94 4.65 4.05 5.21 4.53
LI4nonacupoint 1.37 2.50 2.53 1.31 1.71 2.49 2.59 1.57
LI3nonacupoint 1.48 2.27 2.43 1.80 1.84 2.40 2.18 1.85
valuesofRIsofthetwoacupointsaftertheLI4acupointwith after LI4 acupoint was irradiated for 15 minutes and 45
laserirradiationfordurationof45minuteswerelargerthan minutesat2minutesinaccordancewithFigure7,asshown
thoseaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes,but in Figure 8. After LI4 acupoint was irradiated of 15 or 45
thedecreaseofRIsoftheirnonacupointswasnotremarkable. minutes,𝑅valuesbetweenRIoftheLI3acupointandRIof
We calculated the correlation coefficient (𝑅) between LI4 acupoint are 0.95 and 0.99, respectively. And 𝑃 values
RI of the nonirradiated point and the irradiated acupoint were<5%.While𝑅valuesbetweenRIoftheLI4nonacupoint
8 Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine
%) 50 %) 50 %) 50 %) 50
y ( y ( y ( y (
nsit 40 nsit 40 nsit 40 nsit 40
e e e e
nt 30 nt 30 nt 30 nt 30
e i e i e i e i
c c c c
an 20 an 20 an 20 an 20
ct ct ct ct
e e e e
fl 10 fl 10 fl 10 fl 10
e e e e
R R R R
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 1 1 1
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
LI4acupoint, before LI3acupoint, before LI4nonacupoint, before LI3nonacupoint, before
LI4acupoint,2min LI3acupoint,2min LI4nonacupoint,2min LI3nonacupoint,2min
LI4acupoint,30min LI3acupoint,30min LI4nonacupoint,30min LI3nonacupoint,30min
LI4acupoint,60min LI3acupoint,60min LI4nonacupoint,60min LI3nonacupoint,60min
(a) (b) (c) (d)
%) 50 %) 50 %) 50 %) 50
nsity ( 40 nsity ( 40 nsity ( 40 nsity ( 40
Reflectance inte 123000 Reflectance inte 123000 Reflectance inte 123000 Reflectance inte 123000
400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
LI4acupoint, before LI3acupoint, before LI4nonacupoint, before LI3non-acupoint before
LI4acupoint,2min LI3acupoint,2min LI4nonacupoint,2min LI3non-acupoint-2min
LI4acupoint,30min LI3acupoint,30min LI4nonacupoint,30min LI3non-acupoint-30min
LI4acupoint,60min LI3acupoint,60min LI4nonacupoint,60min LI3non-acupoint-60min
(e) (f) (g) (h)
Figure7:Reflectancespectraofthetwoacupointsandtheirnonacupointsbeforeand2,30,and60minutesaftertheLI4acupointwas
irradiatedbya658nmlaserfor15minutesand45minutes.ThetoprowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottom
rowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor45minutes:(a)and(e)LI4acupoint;(b)and(f)LI3acupoint;(c)and(g)LI4nonacupoint;
(d)and(h)LI3nonacupoint.
and RI of LI4 acupoint are 0.45 and 0.47, 𝑅 values between oftheLI4andLI5acupointsincreasedprominentlyandthe
RI of the LI3 nonacupoint and RI of LI4 acupoint are 0.37 intensitiesoftheirnonacupointswerekeptnearlystable.The
and0.42,respectively.Their𝑃valueswere>5%.Theresults backscattered light intensities of the LI4 and LI5 acupoints
indicate that there is a correlation between LI3 acupoint aftertheLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutesdecreased
and LI4 acupoint, and the strong correlation between two from1to(0.73±0.01)and(0.82±0.01)(Figures9(a)and9(c)),
nonacupointsandLI4acupointisveryweak. respectively.ThebackscatteredlightintensitiesoftheLI4and
Figures9and11displaythechangesofnormalizedOCT LI5 acupoints separately decreased from 1 to (0.60 ± 0.01)
backscattered light intensities of the LI4 and LI5 acupoints and(0.72±0.01)(Figures9(e)and9(g))afterLI4acupoint
and their corresponding nonacupoints before and after the was irradiated for 45 minutes. However, the values of the
measured points were irradiated by the laser for duration backscattered light intensities of the LI4 and LI5 nonacu-
of 15 minutes and 45 minutes at a depth of 0.3mm under pointsalmostremainedunchangedduringtheexperiments.
the surface of the skin, respectively. As we can see in We calculated the correlation coefficient (𝑅) between
Figure 4, all the OCT backscattered light intensities of the backscatteredlightintensitiesofthenonirradiatedpointand
LI4andLI5acupointsandtheirnonacupointsbeforetheLI4 theirradiatedacupointafterLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor
acupointwasirradiatedwerekeptstable,whileaftertheLI4 15 minutes and 45 minutes in accordance with Figure 9, as
acupoint was irradiated, the backscattered light intensities showninFigure10.AfterLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15or
Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine 9
40 %) 40 %) 40
nt (%) 35 oint ( 35 oint ( 35
acupoi 30 onacup 30 onacup 30
3 n n
LI 25 4 25 3 25
y of of LI of LI
ctance intensit 112050 ance intensity 112050 ance intensity 112050
Refle 5 eflect 5 eflect 5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%)
(a) (b) (c)
40 %) 40 %) 40
nt (%) 35 oint ( 35 oint ( 35
acupoi 30 onacup 30 onacup 30
3 n n
LI 25 4 25 3 25
y of of LI of LI
ctance intensit 112050 ance intensity 112050 ance intensity 112050
Refle 5 eflect 5 eflect 5
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 R 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%) Reflectance intensity of LI4acupoint (%)
(d) (e) (f)
Figure8:RIsofLI3acupoint,LI4nonacupoint,andLI3nonacupointversusRIoftheLI4acupointaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiated
at2minutes,respectively.ThetoprowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottomrowshowsthatLI4acupointwas
irradiatedfor45minutes:(a)𝑅=0.95,(b)𝑅=0.45,(c)𝑅=0.37,(d)𝑅=0.99,(e)𝑅=0.47,and(f)𝑅=0.42.
45minutes,𝑅valuesbetweenbackscatteredlightintensities andLI4acupointschangedfrom1to(0.64±0.03)and(0.71±
oftheLI4acupointandbackscatteredlightintensitiesofLI4 0.03)fortheLI5acupointwithlaserpretreatmentfor45min-
acupoint are 0.86 and 0.89, respectively. And 𝑃 values were utes,respectively.ButthevaluesoftheLI5andLI4nonacu-
<5%.While𝑅valuesbetweenbackscatteredlightintensities pointsalmostremainedunchanged,showninFigure11.
of the LI4 nonacupoint and RI of LI4 acupoint are 0.29 We calculated the correlation coefficient (𝑅) between
and 0.21, 𝑅 values between backscattered light intensities backscatteredlightintensitiesofthenonirradiatedpointand
of the LI5 nonacupoint and RI of LI4 acupoint are −0.25 theirradiatedacupointafterLI5acupointwasirradiatedfor
and0.20,respectively.Their𝑃valueswere>5%.Theresults 15 minutes and 45 minutes in accordance with Figure11, as
indicate that there is a correlation between LI5 acupoint showninFigure12.AfterLI5acupointwasirradiatedof15or
and LI4 acupoint, and the strong correlation between two 45minutes,𝑅valuesbetweenbackscatteredlightintensities
nonacupointsandLI4acupointisveryweak. oftheLI4acupointandbackscatteredlightintensitiesofLI5
As for the LI5 acupoint laser pretreatment, the values acupoint are 0.83 and 0.87, respectively. And 𝑃 values were
ofbackscatteredlightintensityoftheLI5andLI4acupoints <5%.While𝑅valuesbetweenbackscatteredlightintensities
decreasedfrom1to(0.73±0.02)and(0.81±0.02)afterLI5acu- of the LI5 nonacupoint and RI of LI4 acupoint are 0.29
pointwasirradiatedfor15minutes,separately,showninFig- and 0.28, 𝑅 values between backscattered light intensities
ures6(a)and6(c).TheresultsofFigures11(e)and11(g)show of the LI4 nonacupoint and RI of LI5 acupoint are 0.23
thatthevaluesofthebackscatteredlightintensitiesoftheLI5 and 0.01, respectively. Their 𝑃 values were >5%. The results
10 Evidence-BasedComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
y y y y
nsit 1.0 nsit 1.0 nsit 1.0 nsit 1.0
e e e e
nt nt nt nt
ht i 0.8 ht i 0.8 ht i 0.8 ht i 0.8
g g g g
d li d li d li d li
ere 0.6 ere 0.6 ere 0.6 ere 0.6
att att att att
c c c c
ks 0.4 ks 0.4 ks 0.4 ks 0.4
c c c c
a a a a
B B B B
0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (min) Time (min) Time (min) Time (min)
LI4acupoint after LI4nonacupoint after LI5acupoint after LI5nonacupoint after
irradiation irradiation irradiation irradiation
LI4acupoint before LI4nonacupoint before LI5acupoint before LI5nonacupoint before
irradiation irradiation irradiation irradiation
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Backscattered light intensity 0001....4680 Backscattered light intensity 0001....4680 Backscattered light intensity 0001....4680 Backscattered light intensity 0001....4680
0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (min) Time (min) Time (min) Time (min)
LI4acupoint after LI4nonacupoint after LI5acupoint after LI5nonacupoint after
irradiation irradiation irradiation irradiation
LI4acupoint before LI4nonacupoint before LI5acupoint before LI5nonacupoint before
irradiation irradiation irradiation irradiation
(e) (f) (g) (h)
Figure9:BackscatteredlightintensitiesoftheLI4andLI5acupointsandtheirnonacupointsbeforeandaftertheLI4acupointwasirradiated
bya658nmlaserfor15minutesand45minutes.ThetoprowshowsthatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes;thebottomrowshows
thatLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor45minutes:(a)and(e)LI4acupoint;(b)and(f)LI4nonacupoint;(c)and(g)LI5acupoint;(d)and(h)
LI5nonacupoint.
indicate that there is a correlation between LI4 acupoint In Figure 3, the reflectance spectra of the LI4, LI5
and LI5 acupoint, and the strong correlation between two acupoints and their nonacupoints had significant changes
nonacupointsandLI5acupointisveryweak. aftertheLI4acupointwasirradiatedforsometime,andthe
change of reflectance spectra of the LI4 acupoint was more
obvious than the LI5 acupoint. Meanwhile, the reflectance
4.Discussion spectraofthetwononacupointsalmostremainedunchanged
duringtheexperiments.Thechangesofreflectancespectraof
Searchingforcorrelationsbetweenadjacentacupointsonthe thetwoacupointsandtheirnonacupointsafterLI4acupoint
samemeridianhasanimportantsignificance.So,thechanges wasirradiatedfor45minuteswereconsistentwiththoseafter
ofreflectanceandbackscatteredlightintensitiesofadjacent theLI4acupointwasirradiatedfor15minutes.However,the
acupointsweremonitoredinthisstudy.Sinceitisanoptical changesofreflectancespectraoftwoacupointsafterLI4was
method, it is noninvasive in contrast to other methods and irradiated45minutesweremoresignificantthanthoseafter
henceissuitableforstudyinghumanacupoint. LI4 acupoint was irradiated for 15 minutes. The reflectance