• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.27 no.2 s.66
• /
• pp.134-144
• /
• 2006

Tongue diagnosis is an important diagnostic method in traditional Oriental medicine. It has been especially accepted that quantitative analysis of tongue images allows the accurate diagnosis of the exterior-interior and cold-heat patterns of a patient. However, to ensure stable and reliable results, the color reproduction of such images must first be error-tree. Moreover, tongue diagnosis is much influenced by the surrounding illumination and subjective color recognition, so it has to be performed objectively and quantitatively using a digital diagnostic machine. In this study, 457 tongue images of outpatients were collected using the Digital Tongue Inspection System. Through statistical analysis, the result shows that the heat and cold patterns can be distinguished clearly based on the hue value of the tongue images. The average hue value (1.00) of the tongue's image in the cold pattern is higher than that in the heat pattern (0.99).

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.301-310
• /
• 1998

Infrared thermographic imaging visualizes noninvasively various abnormal condition by detecting the skin temperature. As the imaging represents the objective condition by the changes in blood flow under the control of autonomic nervous system, it is used to diagnosis and monitor the lumboscral radiculopathy. And asymmetry is important in the diagnosis of disc herniation. The most common type of disc herniation occurs psoterolaterally. This frequently causes nerve root compression leading to a radiculopathy in the distribution of the involved nerve root, most of which also provoke the asymmetric changes in thermography. Central disc herniation, which accounts for 5% to 35% of disc herniation, is typically associated with low back pain. But radiculopathy is usually abscent unless central disc heriniaton is large enough to cause compression of the cauda equina. To evalute the diagnostic value of the thermographic imaging in the diagnosis of central disc herniation, the imaging of 15 normal subjects and 48 patients with central disc herniation documented by CT scan were analyzed. The patients had either bilateral radiculophathy or no radiculopathy. The imaging of patient group with non rediculopathy did not show any significant thermal difference to control. While bilateral radiculopathy group reveled hypothermic pattern compared twith control. Thermal difference between left and right side did not present any significance in non radiculopathy group but hypothermia in bilateral radiculopathy group. Large herniation group demonstrated hyperthemic pattern while the others showed no significant change. Cranial caudal thermal difference did not show any difference between experiment groups. These results shows that infrared thermographic imaging can be used central disc herniation with bilateral radiculopathy, while it seems to little useful on the diagnosis of non radiculopathic disc herniation.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.163-186
• /
• 2010

Objective and Background : Attempt to express knowledge by IT is the current of the times, knowledge of the oriental medicine have to meet the needs of the times. It takes 'classification system of the oriental medicine terms' and 'system of the predicate' for explaining the relation between concepts to express knowledge by IT technique. Researches for 'classification system of the oriental medicine terms' are in progress already, researches for 'system of the predicate' are insufficient. Subject of study : We proceeded to study of the predicate in Idongwon(李東垣)'s "Biwiron(脾胃論)" has clear theory system and considerable influence upon knowledge of the oriental medicine for studying 'system of the predicate' which expresses knowledge of the oriental medicine in early stage. Method : Acquire Chinese play a predicate part in "Biwiron(脾胃論)", translate the Chinese to answer the context, group the similar predicate, decide representative predicate of group. And attempt to make classification system of the representative predicate with Term management system based on SQL Server 2005. Results and Considerations : I classify the predicate which predicate diagnosis, treatment, symptoms and knowledge of the oriental medicine into existence, condition, cognition and will. This classification seems to be useful to explain factors which have an effect on demonstration and treatment.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.119-124
• /
• 2007

Introduction: In Oriental medicine, the status of tongue is the important indicator to diagnose one's health, because it represents physiological and clinicopathological changes of inner parts of the body. The method of tongue diagnosis is not only convenient but also non-invasive, so tongue diagnosis is most widely used in Oriental medicine. By the way, since tongue diagnosis is affected by examination circumstances a lot, its performance depends on a light source, degrees of an angle, a medical doctor's condition etc. Therefore, it is not easy to make an objective and standardized tongue diagnosis. In order to solve this problem, in this study, we tried to design a discriminant function for thick and thin coating with color vectors of preprocessed image. Method: 52 subjects, who were diagnosed as white-coated tongue, were involved. Among them, 45 subjects diagnosed as thin coating and 7 subjects diagnosed as thick coating by oriental medical doctors, and then their tongue images were obtained from a digital tongue diagnosis system. Using those acquired tongue images, we implemented two steps: Preprocessing and image analyzing. The preprocessing part of this method includes histogram equalization and histogram stretching at each color component, especially, intensity and saturation. It makes the difference between tongue substance and tongue coating was more visible, so that we can separate tongue coating easily. Next part, we analyzed the characteristic of color values and found the threshold to divide tongue area into coating area. Then, from tongue coating image, it is possible to extract the variables that were important to classify thick and thin coating. Result : By statistical analysis, two significant vectors, associated with G, were found, which were able to describe the difference between thick and thin coating very well. Using these two variables, we designed the discriminant function for coating classification and examined its performance. As a result, the overall accuracy of thick and thin coating classification was 92.3%. Discussion : From the result, we can expect that the discriminant function is applicable to other coatings in a similar way. Also, it can be used to make an objective and standardized diagnosis.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2009

Objective: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has emerged as an important optical imaging modality in non-invasive medical diagnostics. Hence, the aim of this study is to measure the similarity of the diagnosis by a traditional method using doctor's hand for feeling of pulse and by the non-contact/non-invasive pulse analyzing system using OCT on Chon(寸), Kwan(關), Chuk(尺). Method: Four korean medical doctors and the non-contact/non-invasive pulse analyzing system using OCT have measured the rapidity, the dimension, and the power of pulse waves of 25 volunteers. First, four korean medical doctors measured pulse waves of volunteers. During measuring, four doctors were separated from each other and so were volunteers. And then, the pulse waves of volunteers were measured by OCT. This was performed on the right Chon(寸), Kwan(關), Chuk(尺). Results: The study showed that the traditional method and the OCT based method had the 88% matches on the values of the slow and rapid pulse condition (遲數), 64% matches on the values of the small and big pulse condition(微細弱緩大[洪]), and 72% matches on the values of the weak and strong pulse condition(虛實). Conclusions: Based on the high similarities of the measurements of two approaches, we suggest that the OCT based pulse diagnosis method is useful for compensating the traditional method for the pulse diagnosis.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2017

It is difficult to combine oriental and western medicine. Each medicine has a different academic background, perspective on the world, and studying methodology. The claim that two paradigms can not be combined is not obtained from an actual verification, but this means it is so hard to combine two medicines having different backgrounds. The amalgamation of oriental and western medicine should be phased in on the basis of the continuous reciprocal understanding and commitment. First, the strength and weakness of each medicine over the treatment and research are required to be identified. Then, a few complementary areas can be chosen enabling a trial of fusion on a small scale. A cycle of problem solving and a new research can be set by analyzing research results obtained through the implementation over a period of time. In other words, the researchers of oriental and western medicine should repeat a continuous and gradual complementary research process by identifying issues to be improved and complemented through a consensus. Once the methodology obtained through the process of problem solving and proficient implementation is established in a stable condition, a method to widen the fusion area by expanding the operating area and implementation method can be chosen. However, the integral system of oriental medicine shouldn't be substituted by mechanical idea or reductionism. What should be done primarily for oriental medicine is to objectify things through quantification. In particular, the oriental treatment should accept the microscopic diagnosis to determine the structure and observe the biochemical change.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.135-140
• /
• 2010

The usefulness of constitutional diagnoses based on skin measurements has been established in oriental medicine. According to Sasang constitutional medicine, humans can be distinguished based on properties of skin's friction, thickness and elasticity. To quantify and standardize skin diagnosis, the present study designed an equipment for measuring skin elasticity of hand. But there were some noises in measuring skin elasticity such as measurement method, environment, operator and conditions of patient. So we considered a six sigma project for reducing the measurement errors. The project was followed to discipline process of five macro phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control(DMAIC). So, we could find the major factors which should be controled for stabilizing measurement system and we revised the SOP(Standard Operating Procedure) of the skin elasticity measurement.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.20-29
• /
• 2010

1. Objectives Our goal is to observe the feasibility of constitution discrimination from computing quantitative roughness index from dynamic friction coefficients and their gradients with the measurement device of skin friction with 3-Axis load cell sensor. 2. Methods In the traditional Korean medicine, skin diagnosis is one of the examination methods to discriminate Sasang constitution since it was known that Tae-eumin has rough skin, and Soyangin has smooth one. It is based on the skin roughness on the back of one's hand for the discrimination. The measurement device of skin friction with 3-axis load cell sensor has been developed in order to provide quantitative skin roughness through dynamic friction coefficients. The effective interval of the coefficients is obtained from the automatic sampling algorithm to use their curvature and slope. Then, Fisher's discriminant function of them makes the discrimination. 3. Results The success rate of extracting the effective interval was about 90% and the discriminant accuracy between Tae-eumin and Soyangin was 70% and 68% for men and women, respectively. The entire methods showed the possibility to distinguish between Tae-eumin and Soyangin by using stochastic properties of roughness index, which can make the entire system to include the measurement, the computation of the roughness index and the discrimination of constitution automatical. 4. Conclusions The measurement device, the automatic sampling algorithm of dynamic friction coefficients and the constitution discrimination algorithm were developed, respectively, and their combination can become the serial and automatic procedure for quantitative and objective skin diagnosis, which mimics the movement of the Oriental medical doctors' skin diagnosis. It can be applied to healthcare as well as the diagnosis of constitution in a u-Health system soon.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.23-48
• /
• 2010

Onbyeong(溫病) is called an acute epidemic febrile disease caused by warm pathogen, a major symptom of Onbyeong is high fever. Doctrine of Onbyeong is a study of an occurrence, progress and treatments of an acute epidemic febrile disease. Doctrine of Onbyeong is valid in the Cheong Dynasty at China. Now, a theory of doctrine of Onbyeong at China and Korea is being applied in not only an acute febrile disease but also many other lifestyle diseases. Onbyeongjobyeon is a book written by Oguktong(吳鞠通). Oguktong was influenced by Jangjung-gyeong(張仲景) "Sanghanron(傷寒論)". Oguktong had organized Seopcheonsa(葉天士)'s medical thoughts and Oguktong's medical experiences. A Samcho(三焦) deteriorated case is divided into three groups - Upper, Middle and Lower-energizer - that is discussed of a vertical progress of Onbyeong. And a Wigiyeonghyeol(衛氣營血) deteriorated case is divided into four groups - Wi, Gi, Yeong and Hyeol - that is discussed of a horizontal progress of Onbyeong. In Korean medicine, there are four types of diagnosis which are watching, listening, asking and taking. Informations, got by four types diagnosis are synthesized and classified for medical treatments. A pulse diagnosis belongs to a method by taking a wrist among four diagnosis. A Korean Medicine doctor makes a conclusion of cause, region and condition of disease by taking a pulse. Because all organs in human body are connected by a meridian system. organs conditions are reflected in a meridian system. So by taking a pulse, a progress and a prognosis of disease is diagnosed In this thesis, by taking a pulse on "Onbyeongjobyeon(溫病條辨)", a location and a feature of disease's cause with weakness and strength of a vital force are examined, and a character of a pulse diagnosis of Onbyeong is examined.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.171-188
• /
• 2011

Objectives : The aim of this study is to analyze the actual investigation and classification of osteopathic manipulation by investigation of the various literature of the inside and outside of the country, and to present the application plan of osteopathy in chuna manual therapy for meridian sinew system. Methods : I referred to the domestic and foreign books about osteopathy and chiropractic. In order to investigate domestic dissertations, I searched 4 Korean medical databases and 4 Korean medical journals of osteopathy. Search terms used were osteopathy, osteopathic, fascia, proprioreceptor, mechanoreceptor, muscle spindle, golgi tendon organ, osteopathic manipulation technics. And I classified all the searched studies into principle and region and etc. In order to investigate foreign dissertations, I search 'NCBI pubmed'. Search terms used were osteopathy, osteopathic technique, osteopathic manipulative technique. Results : 1. Osteopathy do not regard the systems which compose the human body in individual territory, but regard whole. It is diagnosis, prevention and medicine which treats 2. Osteopathic manipulation techniques are classified into direct techniques, indirect techniques, and compound techniques. 3. Osteopathic manipulation techniques are classified into fascia, muscle, ligament-joint in applied region. 4. I could search clinical cases in domestic and foreign study. I found cases about myofascial release technique(MFR), postisometric relaxation(PIR), proprioceptive neuromuscular fascilitation(PNF), muscle energy technique(MET), joint mobilization in domestic studies, and strain-counterstrain technique(SCS), MET, AK in foreign studies. Conclusions : Osteopathic manipulation techniques can be used in diagnosis and treatment of meridian muscle theory, because osteopathy and the oriental medicine have many similarities in theoretical background. So osteopathic manipulation technique can be useful in oriental medicine treatment techniques.