Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation based pain control system via Q-EEG validation

Abstract

© 2014 IEEE. Pain is unpleasant sensory which is always a subjective measurement. Various studies try to find a solution to have life without pain. In critical situation, the treatment of burn patients need some criteria to understand a level of pain sensation. This study focuses on an acute thermal pain. The purpose of this study is to block the pain pathway using the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). The results are validated using the visual analog scale (VAS), oxygen saturation (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and the quantitative electroencephalogram (Q-EEG). The experiment is taken with normal healthy volunteers. During the experiment, acute thermal pain is stimulated by a hot thermal pad which can generate sixty degree Celsius. The TENS generates electrical stimuli for pain alleviation in high frequency (around a hundred hertz). The result of pain sensation during the used of TENS is mild while without using it give modulate sensation. The resulting oxygen saturation, pulse rate as well as the Q-EEG are also revealed synchronous results.