MEASUREMENT OF THERMAL RADIATION OF MOXA PHYSIOTHERAPEUTIC REGIME

Thermal radiation from various sources is widely used in medical therapy procedures. Sources of artificial and natural origin are used to create thermal radiation. The latter are of the greatest interest, as they form a wide spectrum of radiation, most comparable to a person's own radiation. The use of wormwood cigars (mox) became widespread. With their help, sessions of one of the most popular methods of Chinese folk medicine, moxatherapy (burning, thermopuncture, "jiu" therapy) are conducted. The authors conducted studies of the thermal radiation of a wormwood cigar in the wavelength range of 800…1000 nm. "Qiaitiao" No. 6 cigars from the standard treatment set were used for experimental research. 
The purpose of the conducted research is to determine the power of thermal radiation of moxa and evaluate the dynamics of its changes during the course of a treatment session. A high-precision OM3-65 absorbing power wattmeter with an optoelectronic converter was used for measurements. Studies have shown that the maximum power of thermal radiation is formed immediately after the wormwood cigar begins to smolder. Its value is within (1.5...2.0) 10-4 W. When a cigar burns for 2.5 minutes, the intensity of heat radiation decreases by more than an order of magnitude. This is due to the fact that in the process of smoldering moxa, a layer of ash is formed between the burning and irradiation zones, which partially absorbs the flow of thermal radiation. In addition, during decay of fixed moxa, the irradiation zone gradually moves away from the irradiated surface. 
Removing the ash layer and placing the moxa at the previous distance leads to the restoration of the initial power level. Approximate expressions were obtained, which, based on experimental data, describe the change in the heat radiation power of a wormwood cigar. 
The features revealed during the study of the thermal radiation of the wormwood cigar will be useful for specialists engaged in practical thermotherapy and will contribute to increasing its effectiveness.