Pain-Measurement Device Could Have Many Comp Applications

An experimental device intended to measure a patient’s pain by checking the pupil response to different stimuli could have many applications in workers’ comp but would need to be used with caution, some say. The device is the idea of Dr. Julia Finkel, a pediatric anesthesiologist with Children’s National Health System. The hand-held device watches the pupil’s response to a stimulus such as a flash of light and, using proprietary algorithms, objectively determines the type and intensity of pain, according to a news release last week from Children’s National....