Temperature Discrimination Training for Chronic Pain Relief
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating chronic pain, such as medication, acupuncture, and surgery, often come with side effects, and there is a need for a non-invasive approach that can train a patient's brain to manage chronic pain effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system, method, and computer program that provides training for pain improvement by having a user distinguish between different temperatures, thereby decreasing the sensory threshold and increasing the pain threshold, using a computing device and a temperature providing device that communicates wirelessly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional treatment methods (medication, acupuncture, surgery) are used to treat chronic pain, then pain relief is achieved, but side effects occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical/chemical treatment methods (acupuncture needles, medication administration, surgical instruments) with a computational system that uses temperature discrimination training to retrain the brain's pain processing pathways. The computing device delivers structured training programs that present temperature stimuli and record patient responses, gradually recalibrating the sensory threshold without physical intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The training system enables patients to actively participate in their own treatment by performing discrimination tasks that stimulate neuroplasticity. The brain retrains itself through repeated exposure to controlled temperature variations and associated cognitive tasks, allowing the patient's nervous system to self-regulate pain perception without external chemical or physical agents.
2Reliability
If the sensory threshold is decreased and pain threshold is increased through training, then chronic pain is relieved, but training time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The training program implements periodic sessions of temperature discrimination training, with structured intervals between training bouts. The computing device schedules training sessions and adjusts the frequency and intensity of temperature stimuli based on patient progress, allowing for gradual threshold recalibration without requiring continuous intensive training.
Solution Approach 2:
The training system dynamically adapts the difficulty and parameters of discrimination tasks based on patient performance. The computing device monitors correct answer rates and adjusts temperature differences, stimulus duration, and task complexity in real-time, optimizing training efficiency while maintaining patient engagement and preventing burnout.
Data Source
AI summary
The inventive concept refers to a system, a method, and a computer program for providing training for pain improvement. According to an exemplary embodiment, a training providing method for pain improvement includes requesting, by a computer, a temperature providing device to provide a first temperature to a first body point, requesting, by the computer, the temperature providing device to provide a second temperature to a second body point, requesting a user to select a temperature matched with a specific condition among the first temperature and the second temperature, and calculating a correct answer rate after performing a trial of distinguishing between the first temperature and the second temperature by a predetermined number.