Modeling and Simulation of the Interstitial Medium Deformation Induced by the Needle Manipulation During Acupuncture

In this paper, we study the effects of inserted needle on the subcutaneous interstitial flow. A goal is to describe the physical stress affecting cells during acupuncture treatment. The model consists of the convective Brinkman equations to describe the flow through a fibrous medium. Numerical studies in FreeFem++ are performed to illustrate the acute physical stress developed by the implantation of a needle that triggers the physiological reactions of acupuncture. We emphasize the importance of numerical experiments for advancing in modeling in acupuncture.