Mobile Health-Collected Biophysical Markers in Children with Serious Illness-Related Pain

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Pediatric Medicine
• Pain Management

Background:

• Effective pain assessment is crucial for individualized care in pediatric patients with serious illnesses.
• Existing pain assessment methods may not be sufficient for this population.
• Wireless wearable technology presents a potential solution for objective pain monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of using wrist-wearable technology to collect physiological data from children with serious illnesses.
• To assess the acceptability of wearable devices among pediatric patients experiencing acute-on-chronic pain.
• To explore the correlation between physiological data from wearable devices and reported pain levels.

Main Methods:

• A prospective observational study was conducted at a single site involving pediatric patients with cancer and sickle cell disease.
• Participants wore an Empatica E4 wristband for two 24-hour continuous monitoring periods.
• Physiological data (heart rate, skin temperature, electrodermal activity) were collected and compared with manually obtained vital signs and subjective pain reports.

Main Results:

• Data collected by the wristband correlated with manually obtained vital signs.
• Children responded favorably to wearing the Empatica E4 device.
• Increased reported pain was associated with higher average heart rate (+16.4 bpm), decreased skin temperature (-3.5°C), and decreased electrodermal activity (-0.27).

Conclusions:

• Wearable devices can non-intrusively collect continuous biophysical data from seriously ill children with acute-on-chronic pain.
• This technology provides a framework for future research into objective pain and suffering metrics in pediatric populations.
• Wireless wearable technology shows promise for enhancing pain assessment and individualized care in critically ill children.