Video software to assess children’s pain – Why doctor?

Researchers have developed a software able, through facial recognition, to assess the level of pain of young operated.

Hello Mom … He bobo is often difficult to assess pain in children and especially among the youth. University of California researchers in San – Diego, have developed measurement software of pain by facial recognition able, by analyzing facial expressions, assess the level of pain of the child.

Jeannie Huang, lead author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of California, “an accurate pain assessment is a fundamental principle in the delivery of care.” This system is, according to the results, more effective than declarative rating scales. . The study was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics

The researchers tested the accuracy of the software, comparing it to self – declaration by the Children and estimates of nurses and parents, 50 patients aged 5 to 18 who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy all (removal of the appendix). They filmed patients during three visits within 24 hours following the operation, then a day later and finally after two to four weeks.

By analyzing facial expressions on video data collected, the software evaluates the pain and assigns a score on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 being the maximum level of pain). The video software is based on 46 facial movements such as frowning, tight eyelids or wrinkling the nose.
Results: data analysis shows that the diagnostic software the level of pain in the same way that patients and their parents, but it is more accurate estimates that nurses

“In this study says Jeannie Huang, we have developed and tested a new instrument, which allowed us to automatically assess pain in children in a clinical setting. We believe that this technology, which allows continuous monitoring of pain, can lead to better and faster management of pain, “says the researcher.