Application of heat transfer to thermal therapy using electro-moxibustion cup

作者：Duh Feng Chyi^*

来源：Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, 2015, 38(2): 232-237.

DOI：10.1080/02533839.2014.955968

• traditional Chinese medicine
• cupping
• moxibustion
• burn injuries

Cupping and moxibustion are traditional Chinese medicine therapies that are aided by heat. These techniques involve heating various parts of the body, and present the risk of burns if not executed carefully. Burn injuries in skin tissue result from an elevation of temperature over a threshold value for a certain period. In this study, we use the ANSYS software for studying the heat transfer in a newly designed electro-moxibustion cup. Results reveal that the cup has an aspect ratio of H/D = 2.3 and that the ratio of the control temperature to the ambient temperature is T-o/T-a < 10. The skin tissues near the cup crown gradually suffer a severe burn injury after exposure; whereas, at a relatively high control temperature, serious damage occurred after a relatively short time. At control temperatures of 100, 150, and 200 degrees C, the threshold burn injuries occur at 321, 211, and 180 s, respectively.

• 出版日期2015-3