Open Access

ARTICLE

AcuRegions: A Novel Cutaneous Region Model Based on Acupoints and Its Application

by Jinrong Hu¹, Lujin Li¹, Wenyi Yang², Zhe Wang³, Junhui Wang⁴, Yan Zhu^5,*

1 Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, 610103, China
2 Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China
3 Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, University Leipzig, Leipzig, 04103 Germany
4 Guang’an men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100053,
5 China Institute of Information on Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China

* Corresponding Author: Yan Zhu. Email:

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing 2021, 28(3), 785-795. https://doi.org/10.32604/iasc.2021.017467

Received 27 January 2021; Accepted 01 March 2021; Issue published 20 April 2021

Abstract

The meridian theory, as an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) fundamentals, provides an explanation of the spatial and functional relationship between the superficial part and the internal organs based on empiric observations. Cutaneous regions which are the body superficies on which the functions of the meridians are reflected, and the sites where the qi of the collateral’s spreads, play an important role in TCM clinical diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases. The survey of the literature on anatomical site, pathology in patients with skin disease, particularly in TCM perspective, clearly indicates that a better cutaneous region model and tool for analysis is needed to make an improved division of the skin into regions with finer granularity. In this paper, we proposed a new cutaneous region model, AcuRegions, which is based on meridian theory. Firstly, we constructed 3D anatomical models for human body including surface, meridian and acupoint model. Then, skin of human body was divided into 670 regions based on acupoints using Voronoi diagram generation algorithm. Thirdly, a software program for visualization and analysis was developed based on AcuRegions model. Lastly, taking discoid eczema as an example, we carried out a demonstration application, whose visualization and statistic result showed consistent with TCM principles and could provide some guidance and enlightenment for further treatment for skin diseases.

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Keywords

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