'Pain-on-a-chip' device identifies different chronic pain types

Researchers from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), in collaboration with Flinders University, have developed a so-called ‘pain-on-a-chip’ that uses live sensory nerves on a chip to help objectively diagnose chronic pain conditions. Their research has been published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

Chronic pain is globally prevalent and incredibly challenging to treat. Furthermore, clinical strategies for chronic pain management rely heavily on self-reporting, which is naturally subjective and particularly problematic for non-verbal patients. As such, new methods for detection of pain biomarkers are essential.

“Improving pain classification and identifying new treatments requires new strategies that objectively recognise specific pain conditions and minimise subjectivity,” said Professor Nicolas Voelcker from MIPS, a lead author on the new preclinical study.

“Our pain-on-a-chip concept has the potential to provide a biosensor platform for a minimally invasive and objective analysis method to discriminate between chronic pain subtypes.”

The team’s microfluidic biosensor works by distinguishing cells that initiate the sensation of pain; these cells, known as ‘nociceptors’, are associated with a number of pain conditions, including chronic pain. The research team used the device to differentiate between blood samples extracted from two different animal models of chronic pain — one focusing on fibromyalgia and the other on diabetic neuropathy.

The researchers were able to demonstrate the device’s ability to objectively distinguish the response of the nociceptor cells towards the two chronic pain subtypes. Co-lead author Associate Professor Nicholas Veldhuis, from MIPS, said their findings could pave the way for the development of an entirely new tool to determine chronic pain states based on blood sampling.

“In recent years, biosensor technology has emerged as a promising method for rapid, affordable and direct detection of biomarkers in disease; however, the technology has not yet made it into a clinical setting,” Veldhuis said. “Our research builds on recent developments which we hope to continue evolving and, ultimately, deliver a device that will improve the lives of those living with chronic pain conditions.”

Co-lead author Dr Dusan Matusica, from the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, said he and the team are excited about what the pain-on-a-chip device could mean in the future.

“Chronic pain stemming from conditions such as fibromyalgia and neuropathy can be very isolating and extremely debilitating,” he said. “Our research lays the foundation for the development of an objective discriminatory tool for the determination of chronic pain states based on blood sampling. Such a diagnostic tool set is currently missing in both preclinical and clinical applications.”

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