Abstract
AbstractPain is experienced either due to a physical condition, where it represents associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or due to a psychological situation, implying mental suffering, mental torment. Acute pain lasts for a limited amount of time and is provoked by a specific cause, while chronic pain is a long-term condition that drastically decreases quality of life and may affect patients absent from any biological cause. Chronic pain can affect cognitive functions (e.g., reasoning ability, attention, working memory), mood, sleep quality, sexual functions, and overall mental health. Generally, chronic pain therapy requires a multidisciplinary and complex approach. This chapter proposes a system called iSenseYourPain that continuously assesses chronic pain by leveraging ubiquitous sensor-based behavior assessment techniques. Based on findings from previous research and focusing on qualitative and quantitative assessment of patients’ behavior over time, the iSenseYourPain system is designed to automatically collect data from ubiquitous and everyday smart devices and identify pain-based behavior changes (e.g., changes in sleep duration and social interactions). It facilitates the providing of immediate assistance for pain and discomfort reduction by informing relatives and medical staff of the likelihood of potentially critical health situations. The overall goal of the iSenseYourPain system is to identify pain-related behavior changes in an accurate and timely manner in order to support patients and physicians, allowing the latter to have constant and accurate data on the patient’s condition.
Publisher
Springer International Publishing