VISUALIZATION OF THE MERIDIAN SYSTEM:PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Background: To understand the meridian system properly, we have to start from understanding the origin and clinical significance of the meridian system.Using the example of low-back pain, we suggest a new model of the meridian system based on biomedical information about meridians and acupoints.Purposes and methods:(1) In order to understand the relationship between the location of the disease and the sites of relevant acupoints, we investigated acupuncture treatment regimens for lowback pain in 37 clinical studies.(2) To analyze the patterns of the combinations of acupoints, we used acupoint information from clinical trials to calculate the modified mutual information value, integrated these data, and visualized the network.Results:(1) We found that the most frequently used acupoints in the treatment of low-back pain were BL23(51%), BL25(43%), BL24(32%), BL40(32%), BL60(32%), GB30(32%), BL26(28%), BL32(28%), and GB34(21%).For the example of low-back pain, we visualized the biomedical information(frequency rates) about acupuncture treatment on the meridians of a three-dimensional(3D) model of the human body.We foundthat both local and distal acupoints were used to treat low-back pain in clinical trials based on the meridian theory.(2) From the network analysis of the combinations of acupoints, we have confirmed that the three basic principles of acupuncture regimens(local acupoints, distal acupoints along the meridian, and distal acupoints based on the internal organ problems) are also applied to the treatment of low-back pain.Conclusion: We suggest a new model for the visualization of a data-driven 3D meridian system of biomedical information about the meridians and acupoints.Understanding the essence of the meridian channels enables people to grasp the principles of the selection of acupoints and to enhance the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment in various diseases.