“[R]esearchers are now on a quest
to find objective biological indicators of pain that will enable doctors to
quantify it as they do heart rate and blood pressure,” according to the Washington
Post which recently described the Nociometer.
Julia Finkel, a pediatric anesthesiologist
at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, is developing the Nociometer,
which would determine the type and intensity of pain and the impact of analgesics.
The newspaper reported that, “[t]he Nociometer
stimulates the patient’s three main sensory and pain nerve fibers — found in
skin, muscles, joints and some organs — without actually causing pain. Instead,
the device sends a tiny electrical current through a probe, usually attached to
the patient’s finger or toe. The three fibers each transmit a different kind of
sensation: temperature and slow-burning pain; sharp, localized pain; and touch
and pressure.”
The handheld instrument by AlgometRx,
Inc., would allow doctors to analyze pupil dilation in response to the electrical
current.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/03/23/pain-measure-precision-research/
[Accessed, 03-29-2025]
https://www.algometrx.com/