Researchers To Use AI to Study Chronic Pain in Rural Older Adults

The useful part

The study is being led by Huaiyang Zhong, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. People in rural areas have significantly higher rates of chronic pain than those who live in big cities. They're also at a big disadvantage when it comes to getting their pain treated, due to the distances many have to travel to see a doctor.

How it works

• It's a multidimensional thing." Zhong hopes to learn how chronic pain evolves, which patients are more vulnerable to poor outcomes, and how healthcare systems can treat them more effectively.
• Researchers will use machine learning and natural language processing to analyze patient records and create "risk d...
• Zhong and his team hope AI can help improve pain assessments and clinical decision making by doctors, with the goal of reducing pain and pain-related complications in older patients.
• "I became interested in chronic pain because it's incredibly common, but also incredibly complicated," Zhong said in a press release.
• Pain itself can affect mobility, mental health, sleep, cognitive functions, and overall quality of life.

What to take from it

It all starts with the information that is sometimes buried in clinical notes.