Digital Pain Mapping for Spinal Cord Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spinal cord stimulation techniques face challenges in accurately mapping and quantifying pain areas, leading to variable results due to the lack of effective methods for selecting appropriate electrodes for pain relief.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for mapping painful areas by displaying a silhouette of the body, allowing patients to draw painful zones on a screen, converting pixel numbers into skin surface areas using reference distances, and applying correction coefficients to evaluate pain quantification parameters, enabling the selection of suitable electrodes for spinal cord stimulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If spinal cord stimulation techniques are used to relieve neuropathic pain, then pain relief is achieved, but accurate mapping and quantification of pain areas becomes difficult due to lack of effective evaluation methods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a digital copy or representation of the patient's body silhouette on a screen, where painful areas are mapped by marking corresponding locations. This digital mapping allows for accurate measurement and quantification of pain areas without directly measuring the actual body, resolving the contradiction between achieving reliable pain relief and maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional screen display to three-dimensional body mapping by using the screen as an interface to represent and measure areas on the patient's actual body surface. This dimensional transformation enables precise quantification of pain areas through pixel counting and area calculation while maintaining the practical application for spinal cord stimulation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If electrode selection is based on pain quantification parameters, then appropriate therapeutic tools can be selected, but the evaluation of these parameters is currently ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective clinical assessment methods with an automated digital mapping system that uses screen interaction and computer-based calculations to objectively measure pain area parameters. This substitution of mechanical/manual evaluation with automated digital processing improves both the adaptability of electrode selection and the precision of parameter evaluation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback by displaying the mapped painful areas on the screen silhouette, allowing clinicians to immediately see the quantified parameters and adjust electrode selection accordingly. This feedback loop ensures accurate adaptation of therapeutic tools while maintaining precise measurement through the digital mapping process.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for mapping (400) painful zones, comprising the following steps: on a first screen (102), displaying (A1) a first silhouette (100) representing the rear face of a body; drawing (B1) at least one painful zone (104) on the first displayed silhouette (100); indicating the location of a pain felt by a patient; determining (C1) a first number of pixels on the first screen (102) corresponding to the painful zone (104); measuring (D1) a reference distance between two morphological reference points on the patient; converting (E1) the first number of pixels into a painful cutaneous surface, said reference distance being used as a parameter in the conversion.