Periodic pulsed heat technique for inducing analgesic effects

摘要

A technique for inducing analgesic effects to relieve pain in a living organism whose central nervous system is associated with thermal receptors in the skin that sense heat and transmit signals through afferent fibers reflecting the intensity of the heat and its duration to the brain via the spinal cord. Applied to an area of the skin for a predetermined period is an air stream whose temperature is periodically elevated to create high-temperature pulses separated by lower temperature intervals whereby as a result of heat transfer from the skin area to tissue underlying the skin, the temperature at the surface of the skin is at a tolerable level. The signals transmitted to the brain during this period that reflect the sensed high temperature pulses stimulate the brain into producing endorphins having analgesic effects on the organism and relieving pain.