Funded Projects

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Project # Project Title Research Focus Area Research Program Administering IC Institution(s) Investigator(s) Location(s) Year Awarded
1R43DA046974-01
IMPACT-Instrument to Measure Pain and Assess Correlation to Treatment. Create a smartphone pupillometry to objectively determine the presence of acute pain, evaluate opioid as the treatment for pain. Cross-Cutting Research Small Business Programs NIDA BENTEN TECHNOLOGIES, INC MA, TONY XUYEN Manassa, VA 2019
NOFO Title: Development of a Device to Objectively Measure Pain (R43/R44)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-18-012
Summary:

While patient self-report of pain is the gold standard of pain measurement, this may not be feasible in critically ill patients who are sedated and intubated, unconscious, or unable to verbally communicate. Pupillary dilation (PD) is a reliable indicator of acute pain, and measurement of pupil size changes may be useful in determining the intensity of pain experienced as well as the efficacy of an analgesia. Research also demonstrates that pupillary unrest under ambient light (PUAL) is an objective marker of sensitivity to opioids, and facial expression analysis can help detect pain. Benten Technologies, Inc. aims to develop and validate IMPACT, a device that uses pupillometry with a proprietary algorithm to measure both PD and PUAL and conduct facial expression analysis using computer vision. The project team will then demonstrate the feasibility of IMPACT in helping clinicians objectively determine pain and assess opioid efficacy and compare results obtained to pain scores reported by patients.