Method for analysis of pain images
First Claim
1. A method for identifying clinical characteristics of a patient'"'"'s pain, comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a first human body image without pain indicia recorded thereon;
b. providing a second human body image substantially similar to said first human body image other than having recorded thereon readable indicia of a first patient'"'"'s pain, said indicia being recorded on said second human body image at locations in correspondence with locations of the first patient'"'"'s actual pain;
c. digitizing said first human body image and said second human body image if not already digitized;
d. coregistering said first human body image and said second human body image;
e. comparing electronically said first human body image and said second human body image to determine at least one set of contiguous electronic locations of said pain indicia;
f. calculating a single point centroid based on locations of actual pain, said actual pain locations comprising a pain shape;
g 1. using said single point centroid to allocate said pain shape to a given human body location;
g 2. producing a database of said pain centroids for a plurality of patients known to belong to at least one clinical group identified by at least one of a diagnostic category or a disease severity category;
h. comparing the first patient'"'"'s pain centroid with said database; and
i. judging based on said comparison if the first patient is included in at least one of said clinical groups.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method uses body images and computer hardware and software to collect and analyze clinical data in patients experiencing pain. Pain location information is obtained by the drawing of an outline of the pain on a paper copy or electronic display of the body image. Composite images are generated representing aggregate data for specified patient groups. The coordinates of common anatomic landmarks on differently designed body images are mapped to each other, permitting integrated analysis of pain data, e.g., pain shape, centroid, meta centroid, from multiple body image designs and display of all pain data on a single body image design. Differences and similarities between groups of patients are displayed visually and numerically, and are used to assign the probability of a given patient belonging to a particular diagnostic group or category of disease severity.
81 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for identifying clinical characteristics of a patient'"'"'s pain, comprising the steps of:
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a. providing a first human body image without pain indicia recorded thereon; b. providing a second human body image substantially similar to said first human body image other than having recorded thereon readable indicia of a first patient'"'"'s pain, said indicia being recorded on said second human body image at locations in correspondence with locations of the first patient'"'"'s actual pain; c. digitizing said first human body image and said second human body image if not already digitized; d. coregistering said first human body image and said second human body image; e. comparing electronically said first human body image and said second human body image to determine at least one set of contiguous electronic locations of said pain indicia; f. calculating a single point centroid based on locations of actual pain, said actual pain locations comprising a pain shape; g 1. using said single point centroid to allocate said pain shape to a given human body location; g 2. producing a database of said pain centroids for a plurality of patients known to belong to at least one clinical group identified by at least one of a diagnostic category or a disease severity category; h. comparing the first patient'"'"'s pain centroid with said database; and i. judging based on said comparison if the first patient is included in at least one of said clinical groups. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification