Objective Pain Measuring Machine

listermint

http://gizmodo.com/5842840/objective-pain+measuring-machine-means-youll-have-to-stop-faking-injuries

Is the pain more flat or sharp? Is it a five, or more like a seven? Questions like these make you want to punch doctor's face as you're gritting your teeth trying not to involuntarily poop. Now there's a machine to answer for you.

Pain communication is actually a pretty big stumbling block in medicine. The only way for doctors to get the information they need is to poke you or watch you squirm and then ask you about how it feels. Not the most efficient process in the world. Now researchers at Stanford have come up with a new method that takes scans of patients' brains to determine whether they're in pain, and to what degree.

It's still early in the development stages, but in the initial study, the machine was correct 81% of the time determining whether a heat stimulus was warm or painfully hot. That'll have to get better, obviously, but it's a start. And the real upshot, beyond maybe getting rid of those annoying questions, will be to see if patients who can't communicate with doctors are in pain. The downside? It'll be a heck of a lot harder to haggle about pain prescriptions every time you go in for a bump or bruise

This would be ideal in insurance related claims, could be used to lower policies for all !

FatherLen

if they get the percentages to 100% we can finally answer the age old question.
giving birth or a kick in the balls.

antodeco

FatherLen wrote: »

if they get the percentages to 100% we can finally answer the age old question.
giving birth or a kick in the balls.

How many women want to get pregnant vs how many guys want a kick in the balls?

Kick in the balls is more painful

sbsquarepants

the machine was correct 81% of the time determining whether a heat stimulus was warm or painfully hot.

That's roughly the same as my microwave when heating up yesterdays leftovers.:D

Temptamperu

But how are my supposed to get me dispo if they know im lying :pac:

Seachmall

FatherLen wrote: »

if they get the percentages to 100% we can finally answer the age old question.
giving birth or a kick in the balls.

Just thought I'd mention that when women say "You'll never have to feel the pain of birth" they're talking out of their arse. Men are 4 times more likely to suffer one of the greatest pains any human can suffer.

That's right, woman are far less likely to suffer the pain many men suffer.

Dravokivich

So basically it's like an MRI / Cat Scan machine that's re-jiged to look for pain instead of bleeds / tumours / inflamation and such.

Them there things are expensive to buy and operate as it is, what's the chances an A&E or a GP is going to be able to make practical affordable use of one?

Seachmall

Dravokivich wrote: »

So basically it's like an MRI / Cat Scan machine that's re-jiged to look for pain instead of bleeds / tumours / inflamation and such.

Them there things are expensive to buy and operate as it is, what's the chances an A&E or a GP is going to be able to make practical affordable use of one?

Presumably it's an fMRI which I think there are a few already in Ireland (it's not a particularly new technology, just new uses are currently being discovered).