Modeling and simulation of transport during acupuncture

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to comprehend the complexity of the underlying basis of acupuncture. Acupuncture needling is investigated in order to establish a multiscale model that takes into account the complexity of biology but is mathematically simple enough to run simulations. Acupuncture is one of the oldest practices in the history of medicine and is the core of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Once needles are inserted in the right locations, called acupoints, they are manipulated via manual needling to stimulate the acupoint. The physiological reactions of acupuncture needling lead to therapeutic effects which can be explained by a series of interactions between the skin and the nervous, the endocrine, and the immune systems. In the present work, the thrusting and lifting of an acupuncture needle inserted in subcutaneous connective tissue is modeled. A porous media model is used to run simulations and compute the pressure and shear stress affecting the organization of fibers and of isolated cells in their matrix. A mathematical model was conceived to take into account cell signaling. There is ample evidence that needle manipulation in acupuncture can cause degranulation of mastocytes directly through a physical stress to occur. Activated mastocytes rapidly release granules containing chemical mediators. These chemical mediators play a key role recruiting mastocytes in their environment and are known to affect the excitability of nerve endings as well as local microcirculation permeability and size for the appropriate transfer of long-term acting endocrine signals. The process is sustained by the recruitment of mastocytes through chemotaxis.