Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Sensitivity to vibration
Patent
1998-09-21
2000-11-14
Hindenburg, Max
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Sensitivity to vibration
600554, 600557, A61B 505
Patent
active
061463345
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a measuring instrument and a method of measuring, by means of said instrument, an existing pain experienced by a patient.
DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND
When a person in need of medical treatment first comes into contact with a doctor, a physiotherapist, a nurse etc., this person generally tries to describe his pain verbally, so that the medical staff are at least able to make a primary diagnosis of the patient's condition and suggest a suitable treatment. However, this creates a significant problem for the medical staff, depending upon different persons experiencing, and therefore describing, their pain or symptoms in different ways. One person may e.g. be more resistant to pain than others. Another person may e.g. have become used to his pain after a certain period of time and may therefore describe his/her pain in milder terms than he/she would have done if the pain had arisen recently. The varying descriptions of pain which a diagnostician may be exposed to, complicate a quick and exact diagnosis of a person's ailment or injury.
For the sake of simplicity, in the below text the patient is always referred to as being male. It should of course be understood, however, that the same applies to female patients.
In order to hitherto measure pain in patients, doctors, physiotherapists etc. use a so called measuring rod or ruler; this technique is called Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The general design of a measuring rod having a VAS scale is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. There is, however, a variety of different designs of this measuring rod, but their function is generally the same and will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
As can be seen from FIG. 1, the measuring rod is divided into grades from e.g. 0-10, where "0" means no sensation of pain and where "10" means unbearable sensation of pain or worst possible sensation of pain. FIG. 2 shows the reverse side of the measuring rod of FIG. 1, and during a measurement the patient will only see this side.
Suppose a patient having a pain in his arm goes e.g. to a doctor. The doctor picks up his ruler (measuring rod) and asks the patient if he can describe his sensation of pain by placing his finger on that spot on the ruler which best corresponds to the sensation of pain in his arm. The doctor has of course previously explained to the patient how the ruler functions, i.e. that one end A of the ruler corresponds to no sensation of pain and the other end B of the ruler corresponds to an unbearable sensation of pain (FIG. 2).
Assume that the patient places his finger on the ruler at a value of "7" on the pain scale (0-10). The scale on the ruler is turned towards the doctor so that only he can see the pain scale (FIG. 1) and the patient can only see the reverse side of the ruler as shown by FIG. 2.
The doctor thus quickly obtains information about how the patient at present subjectively experiences the pain in his arm.
The doctor then prescribes a treatment for the patient, e.g. some kind of painkiller.
When the patient comes for his next visit to the doctor, the same procedure with the ruler is repeated, and the patient now places his finger at a location on the ruler which e.g. corresponds to the value "2" on the pain scale (0-10).
The doctor thus obtains an indication that the pain in the arm has decreased by; the doctor of course comparing the previous value of "7" with the present value of "2". Thus, the doctor can conclude that the treatment has been effective.
If the patient during his next visit instead places his finger at a location on the ruler which e.g. corresponds to the pain value of "8,5", the doctor can instead determine that the previous treatment has been ineffective, and he can therefore act accordingly; e.g. prescribe a new medicine or a referral to a physiotherapist, a masseur etc. The doctor thus uses the measuring rod to determine whether a treatment has been effective or not.
One problem with this ruler according to FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the patient
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Hindenburg Max
Szmal Brian
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