Objectively measuring physical pain has been impossible. Doctors have relied on a patient’s self-report. And when asked to compensate accident victims for pain and su
ffering, so have juries.
But all that may soon change. Recently Stanford University researchers have used brain images and computer technology to assess pain. In this study, a computer
A recent study shows for the first time that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be objectively diagnosed using magnetoencephalography (MEG), a non-invasive measurement of magnetic fields in the brain. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Minne
apolis VA Medical Center published a study this month in the Journal of Neural Engineering identifying a biological
Victims with full thickness burns, as discussed here, on their arms and legs experience tremendous swelling from the fluids necessary to heal. The swelling puts pressure on the nerves and tissues of the healthy sections of the burned limbs. The pressure may cause a complete loss of blood flow and tissue damage to the
Full thickness (third and fourth degree) burn victims suffer pain:
Burn pain worsens over time:
Unlike other types of
