This project aims to advance Sensing & Actuation technologies to accelerate the development of safer, more affordable pain medications. Current drugs like opioids often cause severe side effects, such as respiratory depression. Evaluating both efficacy and side effects typically occurs late in clinical trials, once patients are involved.
Our consortium seeks to enable this assessment already during phase 1 trials with healthy subjects. By enhancing the PainCart test battery, we will improve measurement quality and simulate patient-like pain sensitivity and side-effect susceptibility. This includes improved observation of central pain processing and temporary modulation of pain and respiratory responses, opening new avenues for drug development and pain research.