The compact electro-acupuncture system for multi-modal feedback electro-acupuncture treatment.

The compact electro-acupuncture (EA) system is proposed for the multi-modal feedback EA treatment. It is composed of a needle, a smart patch, and an interconnecting conductive thread. The 3cm diameter compact EA patch is implemented with the EA controller integrated circuit (IC) and the small coin battery on the planar-fashionable circuit board (P-FCB) technology. It can achieve the user convenience and the low manufacturing cost at once by removing the wire connections. The EA controller IC programs the stimulation current and also monitors the electromyography (EMG) and the skin temperature during the EA stimulation. The measured data can be wirelessly transmitted to the external EA analyzer through the body channel communication with low power consumption. The external EA analyzer can check the patient's status, such as the muscle fatigue and the change of the skin temperature, and the practitioner can change the stimulation parameters for the optimal curative value. The proposed compact EA system is fully implemented and tested on the human body.
PMID: 23366623