What does a pain 'biomarker' mean and can a machine be taught to measure pain?

Joshua Levitt; Carl Y Saab

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2018.11.038

What does a pain 'biomarker' mean and can a machine be taught to measure pain?

Neurosci Lett. 2019 May 29;702:40-43. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.11.038. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Authors

Joshua Levitt¹, Carl Y Saab²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. Electronic address: Carl_Saab@Brown.edu.

PMID: 30503919
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.11.038

Abstract

Artificial intelligence allows machines to predict human faculties such as image and voice recognition. Can machines be taught to measure pain? We argue that the two fundamental requirements for a device with 'pain biomarker' capabilities are hardware and software. We discuss the merits and limitations of electroencephalography (EEG) as the hardware component of a putative embodiment of the device, and advances in the application of machine learning approaches to EEG for predicting pain.

Keywords: Biomarker; EEG; Machine learning; Pain.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Electroencephalography
Machine Learning*
Pain / diagnosis*
Pain / physiopathology
Pain Measurement*
Terminology as Topic

Substances

Biomarkers