Many people have chronic pain but few treatment options. Doctors are currently discussing the extent to which AI can help.
From digital pain calendars to distraction through virtual worlds – doctors are increasingly turning to digital solutions to combat pain. These therapies are already being used for patients with chronic pain such as head or back problems.
In the future, technical solutions and artificial intelligence could revolutionize the entire way chronic diseases are treated, said Lars Neeb, President of the German Migraine and Headache Society (DMKG), at this year’s German Pain Congress in Mannheim.
“AI technologies have the potential to make diagnoses faster and more accurately than humans ever could,” said Congress President Dagny Holle-Lee. But associated with this are central ethical questions such as: “Who is responsible if an AI-supported diagnosis is wrong?” The answer is of crucial importance in the event of wrong decisions or treatment errors. Decision-making would also have to be comprehensible using AI algorithms.
In addition, empathy and communicative care should not take a back seat as machines increasingly support clinical decisions, said Holle-Lee.
According to Neeb, patients can already immerse themselves in a different reality using virtual reality (VR) and thereby specifically reduce pain. The so-called distraction therapies have proven effective for back pain or neuropathic complaints. Studies have shown that VR applications could reduce the sensation of pain by transporting the brain to positive, stress-free scenarios.
According to Neeb, another promising approach is the combination of VR with biofeedback techniques, in which visual and auditory feedback is used to learn to control body tension and stress levels. The combination of virtual reality and physiology has the potential to reduce pain in the long term. Patients are also helped to better understand and control their physical reactions.
Using algorithm-supported programs, the people being treated could also document their pain symptoms, monitor the progression of the disease and carry out targeted exercises to combat the pain.
In the case of chronic pain, there is a lack of a good care structure, especially in the outpatient sector, according to a statement about the congress, which is organized every year by the German Pain Society and the German Migraine and Headache Society. Only around one in twelve people with chronic pain receives a treatment place with sufficient specialist knowledge.
Those affected often lived for years without a diagnosis and therefore without adequate treatment. One reason for the inadequate supply situation is that many doctors only come into contact with the important subject of pain medicine years after their license to practice medicine.