Methods and systems for measuring and communicating pain and distress level
First Claim
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1. A method of communicating a pain level of a patient, comprising:
- acquiring objective measurements of two parameters of the patient associated with the pain level and a first procedure, the parameters selected from the group consisting of heart rate variability, facial grimacing, and hand flexing;
scaling the objective measurements, according to magnitude estimation or a generalized labeled magnitude scale, to obtain logarithmically scaled scores;
determining, by a processor and based on the scaled scores, a pain score;
displaying a representation of the pain score;
calculating, by a processor, a future pain score by applying a decay rate according to a procedure load index based on data from another patient; and
displaying a representation of the future pain score.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are described for communicating the distress or pain experienced by an infant or a non-communicative patient. The systems and methods can provide an objective quantification of pain and/or distress in conjunction with, e.g., various distressing procedures commonly found in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). The systems may include a processor in communication with a distress level input device and a display configured to provide a representation of a pain or distress score calculated in the processor. The processor may include executable code to translate data from the distress level input into the distress score.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of communicating a pain level of a patient, comprising:
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acquiring objective measurements of two parameters of the patient associated with the pain level and a first procedure, the parameters selected from the group consisting of heart rate variability, facial grimacing, and hand flexing; scaling the objective measurements, according to magnitude estimation or a generalized labeled magnitude scale, to obtain logarithmically scaled scores; determining, by a processor and based on the scaled scores, a pain score; displaying a representation of the pain score; calculating, by a processor, a future pain score by applying a decay rate according to a procedure load index based on data from another patient; and displaying a representation of the future pain score. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for measuring and communicating pain level comprising:
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a sensory level input device configured to acquire objective measurements of two parameters selected from the group consisting of heart rate variability, facial grimacing, and hand flexing; a processor communicably coupled to the sensory level input device, the processor having executable code configured to (i) scale the objective measurements, according to magnitude estimation or a generalized labeled magnitude scale, to obtain logarithmically scaled scores, (ii) determine, based on the scaled scores, a pain score, and (iii) calculate a future pain score by applying a decay rate according to a procedure load index based on data from another patient; and a display configured to provide a representation of the pain score and a representation of the future pain score. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of measuring distress in a patient, comprising:
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acquiring objective indications of two parameters associated with a distress level of the patient, the parameters being selected from the group consisting of heart rate of the patient, facial electromyography of the patient, and hand flexing of the patient; scaling the objective indications, according to magnitude estimation or a generalized labeled magnitude scale, to obtain logarithmically scaled scores; determining, based on the scaled scores, a distress score; displaying a representation of the distress score on a display; calculating, by a processor, a future distress score by applying a decay rate according to a procedure load index based on data from another patient; and displaying a representation of the future distress score. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification