PainChek General Discussion, page-19515

Interesting trial.

ACTRN12621000837820: A feasibility RCT to assess the usability of the PainChek app to assess pain and scoping of cost implications
https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12621000837820
The PersonAl RObot (PARO) is a therapeutic robot and a non-pharmacological intervention that has no significant negative side effects. PARO has the appearance of a baby harp seal and is covered with artificial fur, which is soft and warm to touch. It has the following four senses: sight, hearing, balance and tactile senses. PARO has two optical nose sensors to recognise the source of light and has a diurnal rhythm of sleep or movement according to the light sources and stimulation of the sensors. PARO also has three microphones in its ears to detect sound source direction and speech recognition, such as its name or greetings, as well as some simple words. It contains a posture sensor to maintain balance and recognises its posture when it is held by a user. For motion, it has seven silent intelligent actuators to open and close its eyes and move its neck and its front and rear flippers. Thus PARO combines these four senses to respond and communicate with users by moving or making a sound. The voice of PARO was recorded from a real baby harp seal. PARO can also learn users’ preference for its behaviour and has emotions such as happiness or anger. Taking care of PARO can make people feel happy and they may enjoy having PARO as a companion, which reflects the therapeutic effects of PARO on users…

…In each session, trained research assistants (RAs) will introduce PARO to a participant and leave the robot to the participant for 15 minutes. RAs will record the time, duration and interactions of participants with PARO for each session using an observation diary.

Before and after each session, trained research assistants (RAs) will assess the pain levels of participants using the PainChek app during the four-week intervention. The RA will use a Tablet camera to capture a three-second video of the facial expressions of participants. The facial indicators of pain will be detected automatically and the RA will record other pain-related behaviours such as voice, movement, behaviour, activity and body language via the PainChek app. It takes around two minutes to complete the assessment.[/B]



Regis Healthcare - 2015 Annual Report
https://www.regis.com.au/site/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Regis-Healthcare-Limited-Annual-Report-2015.pdf
Page 21

The year also saw further investment in residential wellbeing outcomes through the successful trial of PARO, a highly sophisticated lifelike robotic seal, which interacts with residents and has reduced the incidence of severe behaviours.

Case studies on the following two pages expand on these initiatives and achievements.


Regis Healthcare - 2016 Annual Report
https://www.regis.com.au/site/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Regis-Healthcare-Annual-Report-2016.pdf
Page 7

… As mentioned in our previous report, PARO, our robotic Harp seal, has been introduced into care and lifestyle programs across all Facilities after proving to be highly successful in reducing severe dementia behaviours over time.