PainChek partners with Australia’s largest child health research institute to trial pain app in infants
PainChek and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute will trial the pain detection app on about 100 infants that present to the emergency department at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital.
As part of its plan to expand its PainChek app to children worldwide, PainChek (ASX: PCK) has teamed up with the Melbourne Murdoch Children’s Research Institute to clinically test a version of the app for infants, with the study due to begin in days.
According to PainChek, the Melbourne institute is the largest child health research institute in Australia and one of the top three worldwide.
Prof Franz Babl and Associate Prof Di Crellin will lead the study in the emergency department of Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital.
“The company is excited to be working with researchers from the world-renowned Murdoch Children’s Research Institute,” PainChek chief scientific officer Prof Jeff Hughes said.
“Children who present to the emergency department often have underlying pain or need to go through painful medical procedures,” he explained.
“The PainFace study will be looking to validate PainChek as an accurate pain assessment tool that helps clinicians in the emergency department improve the quality of pain management for these vulnerable children.”
The study is expected to begin within days with the pain scores derived using the PainChek app compared to those determined by two independent assessors using the face, legs, activity, cries and consolability scale (FLACC).
About 100 infants undergoing painful procedures within the emergency department will be in the study.
PainChek expects results and lessons from the study will support applications for regulatory approval of PainChek’s infant app with the Therapeutics Goods Administration, CE Mark in Europe and the Food and Drug Administration in the US.
PainChek adult app
The company developed the PainChek app for adults, which uses automated facial recognition and analysis to identify, quantify and monitor pain in adults that are unable to verbalise their pain.
PainChek’s app for adults has been clinically validated and received regulatory clearance for use in Australia and the EU.
More than 80 aged care facilities across Australia are either using the app or in the process of implementing it.
Additionally, the Australian Federal Government has invested $5 million to assist with rolling out the app in aged care facilities across Australia.
In late May, PainChek reported it was expanding into the UK after securing a distribution agreement with Person Centred Software.
Person will be distributing the app to its UK client-base which includes more than 1,200 aged care providers and 40,000 residents.
To shore up its presence in the UK, PainChek is establishing a local operation in the country.
PainChek will also use its UK base to launch into Europe where it is believed there are about 7.5 million people living with dementia.
Before market open, PainChek’s share price was $0.20.