• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.288-293
• /
• 2006

Background : Monoplegia is the paralysis of a limb. It is commonly caused by an injury to the cerebral cortex, and rarely caused by injury to the internal capsule, brain stem, or spinal cord. Most problems with cerebral cortex is derived from the occlusion of a brain cortex blood vessel due to thrombus or embolus. Objectives : This study is to see if there is a significance in thermal differences of acupoints in diagnosis and treatment of monoplegia on an upper extremity to test the validity of acupuncture and herbal treatment for it. Methods : By using Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging(DITI), thermal differences$({\Delta}T)$ of acupoints on the upper extremity in a patient with monoplegia on the right upper extremity were measured after an attack of the disease. By giving Mangeum-tang(萬金湯) and treating the patient with acupuncture. the temperature changes of the upper extremity were examined through DITI and improvement was observed. Results : Compared with the left arm which suffered no such injury, the right recovered about 80% of sensation, and the grade of monoplegia improved from Grade O to Grade V. Also, the temperatures of right palmar-dorsal hand and the region of Weiguan(外關, Waiguan, TE5) were $1^{\circ}C$ and $1.45^{\circ}C$ higher than the same left region on admission day, but the thermal differences$({\Delta}T)$ narrowed to $0.5^{\circ}C$ by the last day. Conclusions : Results suggest that DITI screening is a reliable method of prognosis and that the time required for treatment can be estimated through this method in cases of monoplegia to an upper extremity. Also, progress in treatment is reflected in thermal differences of acupoints of the monoplegic upper extremity in accordance with the theory of meridian. This supports a role for acupuncture and herbal treatment for monoplegia.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.279-285
• /
• 1998

Exessive sweating of the palms and soles, is a psychologically and occupationally distressing and sometimes disabling condition. Hyperhidrosis is one of the common abnormalities in autonomic nervous system. There were no specific treatment on hyperhidrosis, so invasive thoracic sympathectomy via axillary thoracotomy or cervical approach had been used. Video-assisted thoracic surgery(VATS) is now mostly performed for treating of the palmar and axillary hyperhidrosis. From March 1996 to March 1997, 15 patients with bilateral palmar hyperhidrosis had been treated by the bilateral thoracic sympathectomy(T2, T3, T4) with thoracoscopic resection. The patient were evaluated preoperative and postoperative Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging (DITI) at Kyung-Hee University Hospital. There were no case of the thoracotomy conversion. There were 3 complications ; pulmonary edema in 1 case, Horner's syndrome in 1 case, and gustatory hyperhidrosis in 1 case. More than half of the patients also had compensatory sweating in the lower abdomen, the buttocks, the back and the thighs. In conclusion, most of the patients were satisfied with the postoperative results of the thoracoscopic sympathectomy, including no more palmar and axillary sweating, less pain, better cosmetic appearances, decreased sweating of the face and soles. In addition, intraoperative temperature monitoring of the hands could estimate the successful thoracoscopic sympathectomy and the preoperative and postoperative Digital infrared thermographic imaging(DITI) could especially be the technique for the objective manifestation of the successful results of the thoracoscopic sympathectomy.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.81-86
• /
• 2006

Background: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a painful and disabling disease, yet the diagnosis of this can be difficult to confirm by purely objective measures. Therefore, we performed three-phasic bone scans and thermography as a work up in order to determine their predictive value and usefulness for making the diagnosis of CRPS. Methods: 44 patients who had been diagnosed with CRPS type-1, according to the modified criteria, were evaluated. All the patients were examined by performing a three-phasic bone scan and thermography as part of a work-up for diagnostic confirmation. The diffuse increased tracer uptake in the delayed image (phase III) was estimated by the positive findings. The findings were considered positive for CRPS if the thermographic findings showed temperature asymmetries between the affected and non- affected extremities of more than $1.00^{\circ}C$ Results: A review of the three-phasic bone scan for 44 patients indicated that 16 patients (36.4%) had diffusely positive scans, and thermographic abnormalities were noted in 35 of 44 patients (79.5%). Conclusions: The use of thermography in clinical settings can play an important role in the diagnosis of CRPS. However, a three-phasic bone scan alone cannot provide a completely accurate diagnosis, so it is imperative that the three-phasic bone scan data be integrated with the clinical evaluation and the other relevant tests.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.173-182
• /
• 2014

Objectives : There are few reports on treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome in the field of traditional Korean medicine. The aim of this study is to report a case of a 29-year-old male patient diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, whose symptoms were relieved after 3-week integrated Korean medical treatment. Methods : A patient diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome was admitted into the Korean medicine hospital. The patient had left shoulder pain and left arm numbness. The pain was worse if it had become cold. The patient was treated using Sa-am acupuncture(Daejangseunggyeok), sweet bee venom acupuncture, herbal medicine and other treatment including physical therapy from September 7th to 27th of 2012. Improvement of the patient's symptoms was evaluated by verbal numerical rating scale(VNRS), skin surface temperature difference between the left and right symmetric part of digital infrared thermographic image(DITI). Results : After 3-weeks of treatment, VNRS decreased and skin surface temperature difference between the left and right symmetric part of DITI showed moderate improvement. Conclusions : The results suggest that integrated Korean medical treatment may affect to reduce the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. Further study is needed to evaluate the importance of this report.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.94-106
• /
• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to find the effect of Far Infrared Radiation (FIR) about improvement of chief complaints and health state. Methods: For this study we evaluated thermographic images, heart rate variability (HRV), visual analogue scale (VAS) score of 34 patients with various diseases. Tests were done two times, before and after treatments and we compared the test results. We used the temperature difference between CV12 and CV4, both sides of PC8, LR3 for recognizing improvement of blood circulation. We analyzed the change of complexity, stability of autonomic nervous system (ANS) by HRV test. The patients were asked to fill out questionnaire about the severity of symptoms by VAS score. Analyses were undertaken using SPSS ver.12.0.1 and p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Statistical analysis shows that Far Infrared Radiation (FIR) had significant efficiency in increasing surface temperature and reducing VAS pain scores. In heart rate variability (HRV) test, LF/HF ratio showed tends to improve. Conclusions: The application of an FIR to whole body appears to alleviate various complaints of patients.

• Journal of Oriental Medical Thermology
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.44-54
• /
• 2009

Purpose: To evaluate thermal effect and medication compliance of red ginseng extract. Methods: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over clinical study was performed. Twenty four healthy, married women aged 30-45 years with FSFI score below 25 were randomly divided into two groups; red ginseng group(N=12) and placebo group(N=12). During the first 6-week period (Study1), each group was dosed with red ginseng or placebo twice a day. Before starting the second 6-week period(Study2), a crossover design was chosen with a 2-week break(Washout period). Interchanging two groups after Washout period, red ginseng and placebo were dosed to each group. The efficacy of thermal effect was measured with subjective warm sensation scale and lower abdomen temperature by Digital Infrared Thermographic imaging(DITI) before and after each 6-week period. A medication compliance was assessed after each 6-week period and the correlation medication compliance between Sasang Constitution and subjective warm sensation was analyzed. Results: Overall 23 participants completed the study. In subjective warm sensation scale, after taking placebo, all participants exhibited an improving trend, but there was no significant difference. In lower abdomen temperature by DITI, statistically significant objective thermal effect of red ginseng was also not shown. A medication compliance was higher in Yin constitution(Taeumin, Soeumin), and showed an upward trend with decreasing subjective warm sensation. But no statistically significant difference was exhibited. Conclusion: Statistically significant thermal effect of red ginseng was not shown in this study. We anticipate if a long-term clinical trial is practiced, significant thermal effect of red ginseng will be shown.

• Journal of Oriental Medical Thermology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.52-56
• /
• 2002

Causes of infertility include a wide range of physical, as well as emotional factors. In Oriental medicine, women's infertility is believed to be caused by the deficiency of the Chung and Ren vessel. Then the Kidney Qi is collapsed and cold. Many infertility women complain the cold hypersensitivity and/or body coldness, especially on the lower abdomen, back and knee. The aim of this study is to examine the interrelationship between infertility and body surface temperature. The 25 infertility women were allocated as infertility group and 25 fertility women (experienced delivery or pregnancy), as control group at the Kangnam Korean Hospital, KyungHee University, Seoul, Korea, from April to December 2000. Thermographic observations for this study were made using the Dorex DITI on 3 different areas's cold hypersensitivity: lower abdomen, back and knee. All data were coded for computer analysis and significances were tested by Mann-Whitney Test. The mean ${\Delta}T$ for abdomen cold hypersensitivity was $0.25{\pm}1.77^{\circ}C$ On control group and $1.00{\pm}0.39^{\circ}C$, infertility group. The mean ${\Delta}T$ for back cold hypersensitivity was $1.75{\pm}0.40^{\circ}C$ on control group and $1.21{\pm}0.58^{\circ}C$, infertility group. The mean ${\Delta}T$ for knee cold hypersensitivity was $0.65{\pm}0.70^{\circ}C$ on control group and $1.32{\pm}0.58^{\circ}C$, infertility group. It was revealed that the cold hypersensitivity on the lower abdomen, back and knee are significantly inter-related to the women infertility. These results do not conflict with the view of Oriental medicine. According to the above results, it is concluded that the body surface temperature, cold hypersensitivity and/or body coldness, have a great effect on women infertility.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2011

In order to measure corrosion level of reinforcement rebar in RC structures, non-destructive test methods which are concrete surface current density method and infrared thermographic technique were employed to measure corrosion levels. Experimental test parameters were various levels of corrosion states(0, 1, 3, 5, 7% of weight loss) and concrete cover depth(30 mm, 40 mm) and two different reinforcing rebar arrangements. The larger amount of concrete surface current density, the higher corrosion level in reinforcement rebar. The laboratory conditions which are ambient temperature and humidity have negligible effect on the infrared thermographical data. After analysis of current density and temperature distribution from concrete surface, corrosion level of reinforcement rebar embedded in concrete can be measured qualitatively based on the amount of electric current and heat flux.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.65-76
• /
• 2015

Objectives : This study is to report the effect of Korean medical treatment on a patient suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) occurred in pregnancy and worsened after birth. Methods : We treated the patient diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome by Korean medical treatment such as acupuncture, pharmacopuncture and herbal medicine at ⃝⃝Hospital of Korean Medicine from July 31th 2015 to August 6th 2015. And we evaluated changes of symptoms by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Tinel sign, Phalen’s test, and Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging (DITI). Results : 1. Through Korean medical treatment, postpartum carpal tunnel syndrome was significantly improved. VAS was decreased from 4 to 2, Phalen’s test was manifested from 10 seconds to 26 seconds and Tinel sign was changed from positive to negative. 2. We compared the gap of temperature between palm and forearm before and after Korean medical treatment through DITI. The temperature on the right side was changed from 0.74℃ to 1.01℃ and the left one from 0.63℃ to 1.01℃. Conclusions : This case report shows that Korean medical treatment is useful to treat pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome worsened after birth.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.105-110
• /
• 2018

Background: A stellate ganglion block (SGB) causes increased blood flow in the maxillofacial region, exhibiting the potential for regenerative effects in damaged tissue. The focus of this study was to understand the efficacy of SGB for regenerative effects against nerve damage. A rat model of the superior cervical ganglion block (SCGB) was created instead of SGB, and facial blood flow, as well as sympathetic nervous system function, were measured. Methods: A vertical incision was made on the left side of the neck of a Wistar rat, and a 5-mm resection of the superior cervical ganglion was performed at the back of the bifurcation of the internal and external branches of the left common carotid artery. Blood flow in the skin at the mandibular angle and mean facial temperature were measured using a laser-Doppler blood flow meter and a thermographic camera, respectively, over a 5-week period after the block. In addition, the degree of ptosis and miosis were assessed over a period of 6 months. Results: The SCGB rat showed significantly higher blood flow at the mandibular angle on the block side (P < 0.05) for 3 weeks, and significantly higher skin temperature (P < 0.05) for 1 week after the block. In the SCGB rat, ptosis and miosis occurred immediately after the block, and persisted even 6 months later. Conclusions: SCGB in rats can cause an increase in the blood flow that persists over 3 weeks.