Development of electro-thermal acupunctures for physical therapy of ligament

The thermal acupuncture is used to heal the ligament injury. Conventional thermal acupunctures have side effects such as skin burn and inefficiency in terms of curative effect. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the previous acupunctures, we develop a novel electro-thermal acupuncture using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, which could be an approach to treat ligament injuries and maximize curative effect by localized heat generation. Moreover, the developed acupuncture is realized based on the conventional acupuncture without giving unfamiliar sensations to patients. It is essential to successfully pattern metal electrodes on the curved surface of conventional acupunctures in order to produce the electro-thermal acupuncture for therapeutic purpose. The problem related to patterning on the curved surface was resolved by means of a flexible photomask made of Parylene C film. We demonstrate the metal patterning technique with high resolution that is less than 5% dimensional error on the acupuncture. The proposed new acupuncture includes electrical impedance sensor (EIS) and micro-heater to detect a desired target area and stimulate intensively in a very focused region. With the developed acupuncture, we expect it to be used for ligament treatment accurately and effectively.