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Threshold of Pain

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Portable biofeedback via attachments to "where it hurts."
In the case of a broken/sprained limb receiving a splint/cast (whether temporary or long term), this would be most handy.
thumbwax, Dec 28 2002

Inspiration http://www.halfbake..._2c_20Ski_20Apparel
Vacuum Splint by FarmerJohn [thumbwax, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

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       Could be useful in proving that women have a higher threshold of pain than men...oh, wait, that's been proven....
Marassa, Dec 28 2002
  

       blissmiss, worldwide factories pumping out huge volumes of Threshold of Pain Indicators would stimulate the economy. For instance, your elf, and other halfbakers voting positively on this idea will have stupendously high incomes, perks galore, offices with spectacular views, exorbitantly expensive cars, fancy titles - yet need to do nothing in the way of actual woik. <Elvis>Cadillacs for everybody</Elvis> <Col. Tom>'cept fishboners who gotta do the actual woik fer free</Col. Tom>
Besides, "one to ten" has no gizmos - the world needs more gizmos. Just ask gizmo, gizmo's mom or po.
thumbwax, Dec 28 2002
  

       A bit WIBNI, though, eh, [TW]? I mean, how would it woi(r)k?
bristolz, Dec 28 2002
  

       I took this to be an add-on to the Vacuum Splint for the purpose of objectively determining the least painful position of the injured limb.
half, Dec 28 2002
  

       Pain is felt through the electrcal impulses that travel from the location of incident to the brain...if you could find some way to disupt the "signal", pain would be a emotion of the past
Juleus, Dec 29 2002
  

       I would like to volunteer for the trial run of the prototype.   

       If I didn't overload its circuits within a week of taking it to work with me, it just may survive the masses.   

       I feel your pain, thumb.
FarmerJohn, Dec 29 2002
  

       Bingo, Rods - for instance, my *former* chiropractor, couldn't grasp the concept of anything besides a "yes" or "no" answer to "Does this hurt?" Her ice cold bedside manner was only offset by numerous massage therapists, who exuded actual warmth.
thumbwax, Dec 29 2002
  

       Blissmiss,   

       During experiments at my college, we discovered the threashold of pain is "12."   

       Paid volunteers (medical students who should have known better) were asked to rate pain on a scale of 1-10.   

       A drop of bradykinin was dripped onto an exposed blister base. Rating: "2"   

       A drop of capsaicin (sp?) was dripped onto an exposed blister base. Rating: "7"   

       A drop of each was dripped onto an exposed blister base. Rating: "12!!!!!!!!!!!!"   

       Bradykinin potentiates capsaicin. It's in all the pharmacology textbooks. They should have read up before signing the waiver.   

       So there you have it. 12.
FloridaManatee, Dec 30 2002
  

       Wow, that's even higher than Spinal Tap's amps...
thumbwax, Dec 30 2002
  

       And I thought the threshold of pain was where I keep stubbing my toe.
FarmerJohn, Dec 30 2002
  

       Its pretty difficult to map nerve impulses, the potentials are really low, and they tend to be quite fast. On the other hand with a PET scanner, one can easily see the effects of pain via brain activity. The problem is that very few places have a cyclotron, and they aren't cheap. When technology reaches the point that nerve impuleses can be measured cheaply and directly in a non-research setting, you may have something.   

       Concerning pain standards, the McGill questionare and others are commonly used in research. The 1-10 scale is used as its simple and easy to implement and allows WHO accreditation. More rigoroues methods are a bit too complex and way too time consuming for the average Doctor visit. Remember they have to see 6 or more patients/hour or management gets ticked...   

       The concern with pain is proper treatment. As a rule people tend to understate pain with the exception of the 12 for the med students. With pain being under-reported, needless suffering, or worse physical damage may be occuring.   

       The worst case would be untreated pain over a period of time causing neurological changes such that even when the painful stimuli was removed, the patient would continue to experience pain for the rest of their life. This a $150 bill in the gp's office to catch a pain issue could save $$$$$ over a lifetime.
amuron, Dec 31 2002
  

       I get the feeling this idea has been edited. I see no 1-10 scale mentioned. I am not sure exactly what bio would be feeding back from the painful site. For example - a heart monitor that displays your pulse is a simple biofeedback machine: you can relax etc to lower your pulse. If you attach the proposed machine to my aching butt, what messages would I receive from my butt via the machine which I could then try to consciously control?
bungston, Dec 31 2002
  

       No editing of idea has taken place.
thumbwax, Dec 31 2002
  

       //what messages would I receive from my butt via the machine which I could then try to consciously control?//   

       A phenomenon called 'Curry Dilatation'
FloridaManatee, Jan 02 2003
  

       Manfully resisting urge to post idea on Butt Message Translator...
egbert, Jan 02 2003
  

       It would be redundant with my Breaking Breaking Wind Cyphers.
FarmerJohn, Jan 02 2003
  
      
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