Abstract
The warming acupuncture for hyperthermia therapy is made of STS304. However, its needle point cannot be reached to a desirable temperature due to heat loss caused by low thermal conductivity, and the quantification of stimulation condition and the effective standard establishment of warming acupuncture are required as a heat source. Accordingly, in this study, after Ag-Cu alloys with different composition ratios were casted and then mixed with additives to improve their physical and mechanical properties, the thermal conductivity and biocompatibility of the alloy specimens were evaluated for selecting suitable material. Ag-Cu binary alloys and ternary alloys added 5 wt% Zn or 2 wt% Mg were casted and then cold drawn to manufacture needles for acupuncture, and their physical properties, thermal conductivity, and biocompatibility were evaluated for their potential use in warming acupuncture. The results of this study showed that the physical and mechanical properties of the Ag-Cu alloys were improved by additives and that the thermal conductivity, machinability, and biocompatibility of the Ag-Cu alloys were improved by Mg addition.
Highlights
Warming acupuncture is one of treatment methods that apply physical stimulation to the acupoint in oriental medicine
To determine the basic composition of alloy materials used for warming acupuncture, the composition ratio of Ag-Cu binary alloys was set via the phase diagram [13] shown in Figure 1, of which 5 wt% Zn or 2 wt% Mg was added to Ag-Cu base alloy to prepare ternary alloys (Table 1)
The definition and composition of the Ag30-Cu70 binary alloy that underwent drawing and straightness process, ternary alloys where Zn or Mg was added to the basic composition of the Ag70-Cu30 alloy, and the control groups, such as phosphor bronze alloy, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, and STS304
Summary
Warming acupuncture is one of treatment methods that apply physical stimulation to the acupoint in oriental medicine. It is a kind of combination treatment of acupuncture producing stimulation and moxibustion producing heat stimulation [1]. Moxibustion is a traditional medicine that heats the acupuncture points by burning compressed round-shape moxa (Artemisia vulgaris) [2]. Gold has superior biocompatibility, which is functionally suitable as needle materials used to warming acupuncture. It has been generally used via various methods such as dietary, application, and bathing. Its use in esthetic procedures has been increasing in oriental medicine or plastic surgery as shown in gold lifting, one of face esthetic therapy, where gold thread is inserted into the wrinkle skin tissue [6]
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