A game-based intervention developed by the University of New South Wales has shown potential as a drug-free treatment for chronic pain.
HOW IT WORKS
Called PainWaive, the neurofeedback intervention includes a kit with an EEG headset and a tablet preloaded with a game application.
The game app trains users to regulate abnormal brain activity associated with chronic nerve pain. It responds in real time to shifts in brain wave patterns, which are tracked via the EEG headset. The user data is uploaded and transmitted to the research team for remote monitoring. Additionally, mental strategies are also provided to help users optimise their brain activity.
According to UNSW, the research team developed their own EEG headset through 3D printing, as existing commercial systems were either costly or did not meet the quality needed for the project.
A research team from UNSW and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) recently conducted the first trial of the intervention with four participants.
FINDINGS
Based on findings published in Elsevier’s The Journal of Pain, the neurofeedback intervention caused a “medium effect on pain severity and interference across participants.”
However, it was also noted that the “variability in outcomes highlights the need for future research to better understand individual responses and optimise the intervention effect.” At the individual level, three of the four participants had significant reductions in pain following the intervention.
“Restrictions in the study’s size, design and duration limit our ability to generalise the findings or rule out placebo effects. But the results we’ve seen are exciting and give us confidence to move to the next stage and our larger trial,” stressed research co-lead Dr Negin Hesam-Shariati of UNSW’s NeuroRecovery Research Hub.
Researchers hope that the program could one day be offered as an at-home pain management solution for those with limited or no access to traditional treatments. For now, the research team is preparing a broader trial, aiming to recruit 224 patients dealing with nerve pain from a spinal cord injury.
THE LARGER TREND
The PainWaive project builds on the seminal research into brain changes associated with nerve pain by UNSW professor Sylvia Gustin.
“The brainwaves of people with neuropathic pain show a distinct pattern: more slow theta waves, fewer alpha waves, and more fast, high beta waves. We believe these changes interfere with how the thalamus talks to other parts of the brain, especially the sensory motor cortex, which registers pain,” she said.
Last month, Mobihealth News reported on a study co-led by Prof Gustin demonstrating the potential of a digital therapeutic to retrain the brain’s processing of emotions related to chronic pain.
That study and the PainWaive project are two of more than a dozen collaborations by UNSW and NeuRA centred on Prof Gustin’s research.
Another project utilises virtual reality and real-world touch stimulation to help patients with complete spinal cord injuries relearn to feel.
UNSW and NeuRA are now preparing for trials of two neuromodulation technologies: one will investigate its potential to reduce chronic spinal pain, and the other will explore its use in treating chronic neuropathic pain in people with a spinal cord injury.
