Skip to main content

ASA: Deep Learning Model Can Improve Pain Assessment

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 27, 2023 -- An automated pain recognition system is promising for detecting pain before, during, and after surgery, according to a study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 13 to 17 in San Francisco.

Timothy Heintz, from the University of California San Diego, and colleagues examined the use of computer vision-based deep learning (DL) models to predict pain measurements using facial images in 77 patients. Patients were recorded using a three-camera array, and pain episodes were documented and assessed using the self-described visual analog scale (VAS) and the observer-measured Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) scale. Raw facial images were randomly divided into training (60 percent), validation (20 percent), and testing sets (20 percent).

The DL models were trained on 143,293 images from 115 and 159 pain and nonpain episodes in 69 unique patients who underwent a range of elective surgical procedures. For CPOT, scores of ≤2 were classified as no pain and scores of ≥3 were classified as pain. A score of 0 on the VAS denoted no pain, while scores greater than 0 indicated pain. The researchers found that DL models performed with an accuracy of 88 and 66 percent for CPOT and VAS, respectively. Occlusion heatmaps indicated increased attention to the brows, nose, and upper lip, indicating that these were critical facial indicators for pain assessment.

"Our proof-of-concept artificial intelligence model could help improve patient care through real-time, unbiased pain detection," Heintz said in a statement.

Press Release

More Information

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Cannabis Use Disorder Increasingly Seen in Teens Scheduled for Surgery

MONDAY, May 6, 2024 -- For adolescents scheduled for surgery, the prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) is increasing and is associated with higher odds of postoperative...

GLP1 Receptor Agonists Do Not Up Risk for Complications After Emergency Surgery

THURSDAY, April 25, 2024 -- The risk for postoperative respiratory complications is similar among patients undergoing emergency surgery regardless of preoperative glucagon-like...

Self-Administered Acupressure Reduces Knee Pain With Suspected Osteoarthritis

WEDNESDAY, April 24, 2024 -- Self-administered acupressure (SAA) is an efficacious and cost-effective approach to relieve knee pain in middle-aged and older adults with probable...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.