• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.87-93
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• 2012

Objectives : The present study is to verify whether the deformation of ear acupuncture needle tips that are currently on the market is caused during the process of initial packaging. Methods : Ear acupuncture needles distributed from three different companies were collected to measure the size of the groove on the transparent plate which is used in for the intial packaging. Then the tolerance range for off-centered tips, which represent the range of the groove size that is safe from damaging the needle tip, was determined based on the vertical length measured from tip to handle. 200 ear acupuncture needles were dipped in alcohol and scanned to confirm the position of the needles. Stereo-microscope was used to observe the needle tips that were located outside the tolerance range. Results : The increased number of ear acupuncture needle tips placed outside the tolerance range were seen from in the order of C company, A company and B company. The increased deformation of the needle tips caused by initial packaging was observed in the order of A company, C company and B company. Conclusion : Only the ear acupuncture needles from B company showed the strong correlation between needle tip deformation and initial packaging. It has been observed that the deformation of the ear acupuncture needles is mainly due to manufacturing process, not the packaging process.