Computer pain assessment tool

Abstract

A computer assisted system for objective assessment by a patient of pain experienced is presented with successive computer screens. A first interactive screen includes anterior and posterior images of a body replica. The user indicates a pain area on the images corresponding to an area on the body having pain and a percentage pain area is calculated. A second interactive screen indicates pain intensity in the pain area. A third interactive screen indicates pain type. A fourth interactive screen indicates pain depth in response to input from the user. A fifth interactive screen displays confirmation information. The first through fourth screens are re-displayed for modification in response to the user, if selected. The fifth screen is then re-displayed in response to modifications and a final screen displayed in response to a confirmation of accuracy. Data is saved and a printable report created.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 702,461, filed on Feb. 5, 2007, still pending.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to computer systems for documenting human pain and pain intensity, and more particularly to computer pain assessment techniques or tools.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]Bodily pain is a rather subjective, complex phenomenon consisting of a sensorial perception, sometimes revealing a potential or real tissular lesion, and the affective response, such as crying or verbal outburst, provoked by this sensorial perception. As bodily pain sensation is also psychic, objective evaluation thereof is difficult.[0006]Pain evaluation during clinical examination of patients includes evaluation of pain sensitivity and is generally performed by means of palpation of skin or underlying tissues (for example muscles), or by means of other...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

As bodily pain sensation is also psychic, objective evaluation thereof is difficult.

Both the response to manual palpation and evaluation of pain sensitivity from such response is complex and often unreliable, as well as, verbal reports of the patient which are generally unreliable since such reports depend on the patient's recollection of pain, and since bodily pain may widely vary within the same day and from one day to another.

It is well known that retrospective symptom data including pain are notoriously inaccurate.

With most paper pain mapping using various symbols of shading, such as a series of x x x x or o o o o or ̂̂̂̂, do not allow for several different type pains in the same area of the body.

Patients with extensive pain areas to shade, such task, using mapping symbols, is tedious and time consuming.

If the human body replica is too small, the patient may not be able to shade the exact area of pain.

Using the paper pain mapping and the visual analog scale of intensity it is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify changes in pain perception partly because the area of pain as mapped and the intensity on the visual analog scale are not correlatable.

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