707 research outputs found

    Recording of time-varying back-pain data: A wireless solution

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    Chronic back pain is a debilitating experience for a considerable proportion of the adult population, with a significant impact on countries’ economies and health systems. While there has been increasing anecdotal evidence to support the fact that for certain categories of patients (such as wheelchair users), the back pain experienced is dynamically varying with time, there is a relative scarcity of data to support and document this observation, with consequential impact upon such patients’ treatment and care. Part of the reason behind this state of affairs is the relative difficulty in gathering pain measurements at precisely defined moments in time. In this paper,we describe a wireless-enabled solution that collects both questionnaire and diagrammatic, visual-based data, via a pain drawing, which overcomes such limitations, enabling seamless data collection and its upload to a hospital server using existing wireless fidelity technology. Results show that it is generally perceived to be an easy-to-use and convenient solution to the challenges of anywhere/anytime data collection

    PainDroid: An android-based virtual reality application for pain assessment

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    Earlier studies in the field of pain research suggest that little efficient intervention currently exists in response to the exponential increase in the prevalence of pain. In this paper, we present an Android application (PainDroid) with multimodal functionality that could be enhanced with Virtual Reality (VR) technology, which has been designed for the purpose of improving the assessment of this notoriously difficult medical concern. Pain- Droid has been evaluated for its usability and acceptability with a pilot group of potential users and clinicians, with initial results suggesting that it can be an effective and usable tool for improving the assessment of pain. Participant experiences indicated that the application was easy to use and the potential of the application was similarly appreciated by the clinicians involved in the evaluation. Our findings may be of considerable interest to healthcare providers, policy makers, and other parties that might be actively involved in the area of pain and VR research

    2D vs. 3D pain visualization: User preferences in a spinal cord injury cohort

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    This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Springer VerlagResearch on pain experienced after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) has revealed that not only are there several types of pain present in the same individual with this kind of trauma, but also that people who suffer such an injury can describe the characteristics of the same type of pain in different ways. Making it possible, therefore, to more precisely describe pain experience could prove to be vital for an increased quality of life. Accordingly, fifteen individuals with pain after SCI were asked to describe their pain experience using a 3 Dimensional (3D) model of the human body that could be used as an aid in communicating their pain. The results of this study suggest that the consensus of the participants approved the ability of the 3D model to more accurately describe their pain, an encouraging outcome towards the use of 3D technology in support of post SCI pain rehabilitation

    An interactive 3-D application for pain management: Results from a pilot study in spinal cord injury rehabilitation

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    This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ElevierResearch on pain following spinal cord injury (SCI) has revealed that patients not only experience several types of pain that could prove to be challenging to address, but also that each individual can interpret such pain in different subjective ways. In this paper we introduce a 3-D system for facilitating the efficient management of pain, and thus, supporting clinicians in overcoming the aforementioned challenges. This system was evaluated by a cohort of 15 SCI patients in a pilot study that took place between July and October 2010. Participants reported their experiences of using the 3-D system in an adapted version of the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire. Statistically significant results were obtained with regards to the usability and efficiency of the 3-D system, with the majority of the patients finding it particularly useful to report their pain. Our findings suggest that the 3-D system can be an efficient tool in the efforts to better manage the pain experience of SCI patients

    Collecting Data from Children Ages 9-13

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    Provides a summary of literature on common methods used to collect data, such as diaries, interviews, observational methods, and surveys. Analyzes age group-specific considerations, advantages, and drawbacks, with tips for improving data quality

    Challenges in medical visualization : an interactive approach to explore the effect of 3-D technology on the visualization of pain

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    Pain experienced as a result of a disabling medical condition is a frequent problem in the clinical community and can often be present in any individual with this kind of health concern. Such pain is typically characterized by severe implications reflected on both a person‘s personal life, as well as on a country‘s health and economic systems. Research on pain has revealed that patients not only experience several types of pain that could prove to be challenging to address, but also that each individual can interpret the same type, location and severity of this pain in different subjective ways, making the need for more effective pain measurement methods an imperative and troublesome effort. In retrospect, the healthcare field is currently trying to enhance the available medical methods with alternatives that would be more efficient in providing accurate pain assessment. Most efforts revolve around traditional methods of measuring pain characteristics, which typically involve the 2-Dimensional (2-D) representation of the human body, often used to collect information regarding the type and location of pain. However, these 2-D pain drawings can be limited in their ability to efficiently visualize pain characteristics for diagnosis purposes. Nonetheless, patients have been shown to prefer such drawings. This research develops an alternative interactive software solution to help in addressing the aforementioned situation, by employing the capabilities that advancements in 3-Dimension (3-D) technology offer. Subsequently, in the anticipation that limitations of current 2-D pain visualization will be solved, the developed approach facilitates the measurement of pain experiences via a 3-D visualization model of the patient. To ensure that it can effectively perform in real-world medical practice, the 3-D pain drawing is evaluated in this research through real-life case studies that are carried out in designated settings. The research findings have shown that the developed approach can potentially make significant contributions to society, science/technology and healthcare provision, with patients and clinicians suggesting that 3-D technology can be a promising means in the pursuit for more effective pain measurement solutions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
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