On a scale of one to ten, how much pain do you feel?
It’s a question many patients get from their doctor in the U.S. each day, often accompanied by the Visual Analogue Scale from 1-10 that was first introduced in clinics in 1921. A century later, the simple assessment is perhaps the most widely used technique for measuring pain — a chronic symptom for twenty-one percent of U.S. adults estimated to cost up to $635 billion annually.
However, while relying on patient self-reporting is the current standard for assessing pain, it’s not always a valid and reliable tool, says Wunmi Sadik, chair of NJIT’s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. “Pain triggers both cognitive analysis and emotions, making its objective measurement challenging,” said Sadik. “Determining its intensity, and the underlying cause it signals, is critical not only for effective pain management, but for diagnosis and treatment as well. People addicted to opioids may exaggerate their pain. Children, the unconscious and people with disabilities may not be able to describe their symptoms at all.”
As director of NJIT’s BioSensor Materials for Advanced Research and Technology (BioSMART) Center, Sadik has led new research into nano-sized analytical sensors for measuring pain biomarkers in the human body — a development that could significantly improve clinical practitioners’ ability to manage pain, and potentially reduce cases of addiction in patients. To read the full story.