ePAT Technologies Limited (ASX: EPT) reports that a second study has confirmed excellent clinical performance of its PainChek mobile medical App.
The company said 400 paired assessments in 34 residents showed PainChek has excellent validity and reliability properties, compared to the standard Abbey Pain Scale.
The study is to be published in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders and EPT says it confirms previous clinical findings published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD).
Another study demonstrating the excellent clinical performance of PainChek has been accepted for publication in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, a prestigious and top tier peer reviewed journal devoted to the study of cognitive dysfunction in preclinical and clinical studies.
The study which used a later version of App confirmed the positive findings (including excellent validity and reliability) previously published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD) in August, 2017.
The study included 400 paired assessments in 34 people with moderate to severe dementia (aged 68-93 years), recruited from two aged care facilities in Western Australia. PainChek assessments were blindly compared with the Abbey Pain Scale.
Philip Daffas CEO and Managing Director of EPT said the results showed that PainChek was able to distinguish the presence of pain under various clinical testing conditions reflective of rest and movement such as sitting and walking, respectively. The study is expected to be published in Q1, 2018.
“This study reconfirms the PainChek App as a reliable and accurate pain assessment tool for people who are unable to verbalize their pain effectively,” MR Daffas said.
“We are already receiving an overwhelming positive feedback on the clinical utility of PainChek and its impact on residents on a daily basis from our clients in Australia This new publication provides more evidence for the healthcare professional and supports our ongoing commercialization strategies.”
PainChek uses cameras in smartphones and tablets to capture a brief video of the person, which is analysed in real time using facial recognition software to detect the presence of facial micro- expressions that are indicative of the presence of pain.
This data is then combined with other indicators of pain, such as vocalisations, behaviours and movements captured to calculate a pain severity score.
Due to its speed, ease of use and it’s reproducibility, PainChek will be able to be used to detect and measure a person’s pain, and then further measurements can be used to monitor the effectiveness of pain management.
PainChek will be rolled out globally in two phases: first, PainChek which is designed for adults who are unable to effectively verbalise their pain such as people with dementia, and second, PainChek for Children who have not yet learnt to speak.
