Interaxon, along with Celéri Health and pain expert Dr. Ronald D. Siegel, is testing a therapeutic intervention to help people better manage their chronic and acute pain. With the prevalence of pain and its multidimensional repercussions, this non-opioid alternative consisting of mindfulness tools, EEG biofeedback and psychoeducation, could offer an accessible and safer option to alleviate both patients' symptoms and economic burden.
A recent study uncovered that over 50 million adults experience chronic pain in the US alone. According to the National Institute of Health on Drug Abuse, 21 to 29% of patients who are prescribed opioids for their pain end up misusing them, with 8 to 12% developing an opioid use disorder. With more than 70% of overdose deaths being opioid-involved, Congress has recently put forth the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act—legislation to increase access to non-opioid pain management alternatives. Interaxon and Celéri Health, a leader in chronic pain care data and data analytics, have launched a study on the effectiveness of an affordable, drug-free digital intervention that pain patients can easily access and complete from the comfort of home.
"In collaboration with our partners at Celéri Health and with Dr. Ronald Siegel, Interaxon has developed a sophisticated system that can be used to treat chronic pain," says Dr. Walter Greenleaf, Interaxon's Chief Science Officer. "Our system combines next-generation wearable sensor technology with a sophisticated pain-reduction therapeutic program. Our mobile app-based system is affordable and practical, opening up the possibility of dramatically improving the health and wellbeing of those who are burdened by chronic pain."
Over a 7-week period, the pain management of fifty study participants suffering from chronic pain will be tested as they undergo programming including the Transforming Pain eCourse and biofeedback meditation training, both by Muse®, Interaxon's consumer product brand. Celéri Health co-founders Michael Fishman, MD, and Jason Pope, MD, will assess participants using a cold pressor test and patient reported outcomes measures, including the clinically-validated PROMIS-29 multidimensional pain scale to detect changes in pain, anxiety, depression, physical function, sleep and quality of life.
"Chronic pain is the least data-driven chronic condition in the world, and we at Celéri Health are changing this," states Jon Brilliant, CEO of Celéri Heath. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Interaxon and using Muse® to bring objective data, along with our extensive patient reported outcomes data, to how we measure outcomes and make treatment decisions for people living with pain."
The Transforming Pain eCourse, currently available on a Muse® iOS app, was created in partnership with Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, a mindfulness practitioner, chronic pain expert and part-time Assistant Professor of Psychology, at Harvard Medical School. The 65 sessions led by Dr. Siegel explore pain education, behavioural therapy techniques and pain-oriented mindfulness tools designed to transform one's perception and relationship with pain to improve quality of life.
"The course is designed to simultaneously address several aspects of chronic pain disorder," explains Dr. Siegel. "It uses mindfulness practices to increase distress tolerance, gain perspective on pain-amplifying thoughts, and interrupt the natural tendency to amplify pain sensations through hypervigilance and accompanying muscle tension. It also includes a program of incremental rehabilitation to help participants re-engage in meaningful life activities."
Throughout the study, each participant will also have access to a Muse® brain-sensing headband, a focused attention meditation tool. Using biofeedback technology, the Muse® headband and app will help participants identify in real-time when their mind is ...
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