Pain Research Theme: Neurotechnology, Computational Neuroscience and Digital Health
Technology and digital platforms offer an important new approach to the management of chronic pain, leveraging advances in engineering and AI. It represents a different and complementary approach to pharmacological and purely behavioural approaches to pain management. In principle, technology-based approaches offer precision targeting of specific parts of the pain system, with the aim to modulate pain perception with minimal side-effects. This often exploits computational models of information processing within the pain, where an understanding of how specific regions and structures within the pain system contribute to the generation of pain and pain behaviour. Examples of some of the ongoing research include:
- Mechanisms of deep brain and spinal cord stimulation, and the design of novel systems
- Non-invasive stimulation, including TMS and TUS
- Clinical trials of multi-site DBS
- Digital platforms that use AI to support primary healthcare
Oxford researchers working within this theme:
- Robin Cleveland, Director of Institute of Biomedical Engineering & Professor of Engineering Science
- Tim Denison, Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Department of Engineering Science
- James Fitzgerald, Professor of Neural Interfacing, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Alex Green, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Anushka Irani
- Ben Seymour, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
- Katja Wiech, Associate Professor, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences
Project webpages:
- Chronic Pain Neurotechnology Network
- Epione (Efficacy of Pain Intervention with deep brain stimulation neuromodulation)