Category

Events

Dec 04 2023
2

Dr. Diane Gromala to Present at the vMED Conference 2024

By | Research, Demos, Conferences, Events, Lab Updates, Other News

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Diane Gromala, the Canada Research Chair in Computational Technologies for Transforming Pain and the Founding Director of the Chronic Pain Research Institute and the Pain Studies Lab at Simon Fraser University, will be leading the Pain Studies Lab in presenting at the upcoming vMED Conference on March 28-29, 2024. A Distinguished Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT), Dr. Gromala brings extensive expertise and insights into the intersection of pain management and technology.

The vMED Conference, hosted by Cedars-Sinai, is a highly anticipated event in the field of virtual medicine, gathering experts and innovators from around the globe. It provides a unique platform for professionals to share their research, insights, and virtual and digital health technology advancements. Dr. Gromala’s participation underlines our commitment to being at the forefront of research and innovation in pain management.

Cedars-Sinai, the host of the vMED Conference, continues to be recognized for its excellence in healthcare. Cedars-Sinai has been named to the Honor Roll for the eighth consecutive year and tied for #1 in California and Los Angeles in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2023-24” rankings and ranked #2 in specialties such as Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery, and Gastroenterology & GI Surgery​​​.

Our work is pivotal in shaping how technology can transform how we understand and manage chronic pain. The vMED Conference is an excellent opportunity for our team to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the evolving landscape of virtual medicine.

Participants include clinicians using MXR for patient care, patients exploring the benefits of MXR as a complementary therapy, and hospitals and clinics evaluating the health economics of starting an MXR program.

Sep 03 2023
1

Pain Studies Lab Research at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Pain Society(CPS)

By | Study, Research, Conferences, Events

On May 10-12, 2023, members of the Pain Studies Lab presented two posters at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Pain Society in Banff, Canada. The Canadian Pain Society connects healthcare professionals, scientists, researchers, policymakers, and people with lived experience through evidence-based education. Each poster articulates the results of scientific and clinical studies conducted by members of the Pain Studies Lab in collaboration with other organizations in British Columbia.

Poster 1: Diversity of Social Presence in VR

Yuemei Wu presented a poster about the Diverse Forms of Social Presence in VR for Chronic Pain in a number of our immersive virtual environments. “Social Presence” is often assumed to involve two users sharing the same Virtual Environment (VE), and each user inhabits an avatar communicating in real-time. However, we argue that other forms of social presence can be experienced in multiple ways for multiple purposes. For example, a number of our VEs have humanoid, animal or robotic characters who help users navigate or interact.

Wu Y, Chong K, Gromala D, Shaw C, Kagiri T, Williamson O,  Li R, Kim D, Hortsing S, Wilson M. Diverse Forms of Social Presence in VR for Chronic Pain.  In the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Pain Society, Banff, Canada, 10-12 May 2023.

Graduate student Yuemei Wu introduces the VEs to someone with lived experience.

Poster 2: Neuroscience: essential for the Design of VR for Chronic Pain

In this poster, neuroscientist Dr. Zahra Ofoghi demonstrates an intriguing method she developed to help partially automate structured reviews. Her approach also enables researchers to gain an immediate sense of interdisciplinary differences of the resulting research papers that met the search criteria. That a neuroscientist learns to integrate visualization apps for purposes of pain research may appear to be novel, we take pride in such interdisciplinary achievements, especially for knowledge translation that may be useful for others, building bridges across disciplines.  

Ofoghi Z, Gromala D, Kagiri T. Neuroscientific Implication for the Design and Development of Virtual Reality for Patients with Chronic Pain. In the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Canadian Pain Society, Banff, Canada, 10-12 May 2023

Bridging the Gap: Dr. Zahra Ofoghi’s Innovative Neuroscience Approach Unveiled in VR for Chronic Pain.

Title: Toward a collective understanding of chronic pain journeys through Perspectives of diverse healthcare professionals

Kit-Ying Angela Chong conducted a pre-research early investigative activity developed from a co-design and co-speculation course. The goal was to explore co-design methodologies and understand the barriers chronic pain patients may face from a healthcare professional or researcher’s perspective. The early investigative activity resulted in several learning outcomes. For instance, the journey map as an intervention tool in a conference setting was not as effective as expected, however, it was a successful conversation starter. Angela planned to iterate the activity and further develop it into a research study that contributes to the chronic pain community.

Unveiling Insights: Kit-Ying Angela Chong Explores Chronic Pain Journeys from Diverse Healthcare Perspectives.

May 10 2023
0

Chronic Pain Research Institute appoints Design Director

By | Collaborations, Events, Lab Updates, Other News

New Design Director at the CP Research Institute

We are pleased to announce that our very own Tim, who has diligently served as a research assistant with us, has been appointed the Design Director of the Chronic Pain Research Institute!

Tim will actively work at the nexus of design, health, and technology in his new role. His key responsibilities will be to closely collaborate with a diverse team comprising health professionals, tech experts, design researchers, patient-partners, and international luminaries. Their collective goal? To metamorphose our invaluable research findings into easy-to-understand, accessible formats. This will span reports, visualizations, media narratives, comprehensive toolkits, and workshop instruments.

It is the ambition of our institute to relay our research in a manner that is both actionable and coherent. Under Tim’s guidance, we anticipate further enhancement in our efforts, not merely through our established digital platforms and publications but also innovative channels. It is imperative to Tim and all of us at the Pain Studies Lab that we remain cognizant of and sensitive to the lived experiences of individuals with chronic conditions.

To elucidate this approach, Mr. Tim will present at the forthcoming INFO+ 2023 conference scheduled this fall in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Pain Studies Lab is excited about this new chapter, and we wholeheartedly believe that Tim’s design leadership will amplify our work and deeply enrich the lives of those we aim to serve.

Tim Kagiri, Design Director, CP Research Institute.

Sep 12 2019
1

Pain Studies Lab’s Research at PAINWeek 2019

By | Conferences, Events, Publications

On Sept 2-7, 2019, members of the Pain Studies Lab presented 5 posters at PAINWeek 2019, Las Vegas. PAINWeek is a multidisciplinary conference for frontline clinicians focusing on pain management.

PhD student Bhairavi Warke discusses results of the Pain Studies Lab’s research to a PAINWeek 2019 attendee.

Each poster articulates the results of our scientific and clinical studies. Many of these studies are with our long-time collaborators at the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada (ARC) and the BC Support Unit, and use cutting-edge design know-how and interactive and/or immersive technology newly built for helping patients with chronic conditions. The research studies that each poster describes is affiliated with a Pain Studies Lab project:

As-If 

The aim of this Virtual Reality (VR) platform is to raise empathy of aging people who live with chronic pain. In this VR game, a player “inhabits” a full-size 3D character or “avatar,” a grandmother who is struggling to accomplish everyday tasks. Players must strive to accomplish these tasks “as” this character. As they do so, their physical range of motion is restricted as their arm and wrist joints become red, and they hear the aging grandmother’s inner self-talk.

Players in the VR game As If “inhabit” the avatar of an aging chronic pain patient. From this first-person perspective, they try to perform everyday tasks as if they were that patient. The goal is to motivate empathy for chronic pain patients. After much testing, the initial version evolved into the VR version.

Tong X, Kiaei P, Gromala D, Shaw C. The Design and Evaluation of AS IF for Sharing Chronic Pain Patients’ Experience in VR Settings, PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep 1; 131(sup1), 21. doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

LumaPath

This VR game is intended to promote Range of Motion (RoM) exercises for aging chronic pain patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) or Osteoarthritis (OA). In a pilot study, patients were unaware that the range of motion gameplay in LumaPath conferred about 30% aerobic benefit. The older the patient, the higher the aerobic benefit.

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Initially, the designers weren’t sure why aging adults were so enthusiastic about this steampunk-styled VR game until patients remarked that LumaPath’s ship bears a strong resemblance to the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine of their youth.

Tong X, Gromala D, Pam S, Kim D. A Serious Immersive Virtual Reality Game for Promoting Chronic Arthritis Pain Patients’ Physical Activity and Range of Motion, PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep 1; 131(sup1), 19-20. doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

Tong X, Machuca F, Feng N, Gromala D, Li L, Aceves-Sepulveda G. Promoting Physical Activity and Movement for Arthritis Patients through a Virtual Reality Game, PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep1;131(sup1), 120-121. doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

The Burden of Pain Symptoms

In a collaborative project, researchers from ARC, the BioV Lab and the Pain Studies Lab explored what “Citizen Science” might mean in health domains. Instead of asking people to count birds or measure water levels, the researchers considered engaging ways that citizens of British Columbia in Canada might share their pain symptoms, and how they would ensure that such data was anonymized and kept private and secure. Next, they partnered with Tactica Interactive to design and build a public health data-hub. The protoype web portal was tested “in the wild,” and is scheduled to launch in spring 2020.

Bhairavi Warke discusses an innovative new ‘citizen science’ project with an attendee at PAINWeek 2019 in Las Vegas.

Warke B, Li R, Gromala D, Li L, Shaw C, Gupta A, Hoens A, Koehn C, Currie L, Mamdani H, Cooper D, Loo S. The Burden of Pain Symptoms: A prototype for citizens of British Columbia, PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep 1; 131(sup1): 10–11.  doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

The Virtual Meditative Walk

This immersive VR system incorporates bio-sensors and its Vocal Coach teaches chronic pain patients to learn Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a well-validated method that has long been used to help chronic pain patients manage their long-term pain. The benefit of this VR system is the biosensors provide real-time feedback so patients know if their efforts are indeed having observable effects on their mind and body. Pain Studies Lab researchers are now looking at its potential long-term neurological benefits.

In the Virtual Meditative Walk, as patients reduce their stress levels by focusing on their inner states — like their heartrate and breathing — they see and hear changes in the “weather”: fog and clouds gradually disappear, and birds and insects become more active in the virtual forest.

Li R, Warke B, Gromala D, Garrett B, Taverner T. Does Immersive Virtual Reality Modulate Chronic Pain: A Longitudinal Study Design, PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep 1; 131(sup1), 20–21.  doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

FitViz

In collaboration with ARC, researchers from SFU’s BioV Lab created and clinically tested FitViz, an app that uses a FitbitTM to help patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Osteoarthritis (OA) and physiotherapists to track & monitor their physical activity levels.

FitViz also determines and recommends the frequency and exercise level for individual patients, termed “bouts.” In this way, patients can get a sense of how much exercise is best for their specific needs and can monitor their own progress, while their physiotherapists can follow and adjust their recommendations.

Tong X, Heng T, Gupta A, Shaw C, Gromala D, Li L. FitViz-Ad: A Non-Intrusive Reminder to Support and Encourage Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Physical Activity, PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep 1; 131(sup1), 121-122. doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

The Pain Studies Lab’s researchers also presented results of VR studies that lab member Xin Tong conducted over several months in Beijing:

  • A study among participants in Beijing exploring body ownership, sense of agency and heat pain perception using VR and Leap MotionTM sensors.

Tong X, Diao H, Gromala D, Wei K. Exploration of Body Ownership, Agency and Heat Pain Perception in Virtual Reality (VR), PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. Postgraduate Medicine. 2019 Sep 1; 131(sup1), 19. doi:10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695

The research results that lab members presented raised interest among the attendees, many of whom are pain clinicians and some researchers from laboratories and pain research institutes across the U.S.

upcoming

The Canadian Pain Society’s (CPS) Annual Scientific Conference 2020 will feature AS IF, and recent research results will also be shown at the International Association for the Study of Pain’s (IASP) upcoming conference this summer in Amsterdam.

At PAINWeek 2019, graduate student Ruoyu (Gary) Li explains our longitudinal VR “dosage” study design for chronic pain patients who used VR in their homes three times per week, at a minimum.

May 28 2019
0

Redefining ‘Citizen Science’: Pain Studies Lab with the Arthritis Research Centre

By | Workshops, Collaborations, Events

An innovative workshop redefines what ‘Citizen Science’ can mean in health domains

On April 18th, 2019, Dr. Diane Gromala, Dr. Chris Shaw, Ankit Gupta, Bhairavi Warke and Sherry Wang from SFU’s Pain Studies Lab led a co-creation workshop with their long-time collaborators from the Arthritis Research Center: Dr. Linda Li, Hussein Mamdani and Juliane Chien at University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In this innovative workshop, health researchers and their patient-partners got together to explore new approaches to collecting information about ‘the burden of symptoms’ from patients in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

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(Photos courtesy: Bhairavi Warke 2019)

Participants shared their experiences of trying to define and articulate their ‘burden of pain’ symptoms on their biopsychosocial realities, as well as their abilities to function and their quality of life.

The objective: to question what ‘Citizen Science’ might mean in health domains. Instead of asking citizens to count birds or measure water levels, we plan to ask citizens of BC about their pain symptoms — whether or not they have been diagnosed with a particular condition(s). For health research, this may prove to be an innovation since research often follows a diagnosis, and is usually categorized according to a diagnosis or disease.

The workshop was derived from ‘design thinking’ approaches. It structured the way we explored different methods for collecting the pain-related data, including: a standard medical classification list of symptoms, the well-known McGill Pain Questionnaire, information from questionnaires about function and quality of life, ‘Mood Cards’ and lots of post-it notes, tags and writing implements.

In addition to ARC’s patients-partners, the health researchers participating in the workshop played the role of citizens who would be contributing information about their health anonymously. By doing so, we all got a deeper understanding of how rich pain-related data could be, and how complex it is to communicate.

A participant selecting “Mood Cards.”

The workshop comprised four phases:

  1. choosing medically classified symptoms,
  2. annotating a human figure with those symptoms,
  3. describing how their symptoms impacted work, family, life and social contexts, and
  4. choosing “mood cards” to help articulate psychological contexts.

Outcomes of the research revealed a high level of complexity required for such a system and helped identify the needs not only of the citizens who would be contributing their information but also the health researchers who would use that information. The teams plan to further refine their approach and test for security, privacy, usability, compliance, and effectiveness.

Left to Right: Juliane Chien, Alison Hoens, Delia Cooper, Cheryl Koehn, Hussein Mamdani, Ankit Gupta,  Diane Gromala, Chris Shaw, Leanne Currie, Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai, Sherry Wang, Linda Li.

Apr 21 2019
0

Pain Studies Lab conducts CITIZEN SCIENCE Co-creation Workshop with the Arthritis Research Center of Canada (ARC)

By | Collaborations, Events

The Citizen Science co-creation workshop was led by members of the Pain Studies Lab, the Arthritis Research Center of Canada (ARC) and their patient-partners.

Dr. Diane Gromala, Dr. Chris Shaw, Ankit Gupta, Bhairavi Warke and Sherry Wang from SFU’s Pain Studies Lab led a co-creation workshop with collaborators Dr. Linda Li, Hussein Mamdani and Juliane Chien from the Arthritis Research Center on April 18th, 2019 at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver. In the workshop, researchers together with their patient-partners explored new approaches to collecting information about the burden of symptoms from patients in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Left to Right: Juliane Chien, Alison Hoens, Delia Cooper, Cheryl Koehn, Hussein Mamdani, Ankit Gupta, Diane Gromala, Chrish Shaw, Leanne Currie, Abdul-Fatawu Abdulai, Sherry Wang, Linda Li
Photo courtesy: Bhairavi Warke 2019

The main objective behind the Citizen Science workshop was to test different methods for collecting data on symptoms from people who may — or may not — have been diagnosed with a particular condition. The health researchers participating in this workshop were also patients themselves, and played the role of citizens who would be contributing information about their health anonymously.

The outcomes of the research revealed a high level of complexity required for a system and helped identify the needs not only of the citizens who would be contributing their information, but also of health researchers who would use that information. The team’s next step is to further refine their approach and test it for security, privacy, usability, adherence and effectiveness.

Jan 06 2019
0

Pain Studies Lab’s HQP Weina Jin attended AGE-WELL’s Summer Institute

By | Awards, Events, Other News, Projects

Weina Jin, a Ph.D. student in the Pain Studies Lab, was selected amongst a competitive group of HQPs (highly qualified personnel), as 1 of 18 recipients of AGE-WELL’s 3rd Annual EPIC Summer Institute (http://agewell-nce.ca/training/summerinstitute) in Banff, Alberta from June 18 – 22, 2018. AGE-WELL is a Canada-wide research network and National Centre of Excellence (NCE).

The theme of this year’s AGE-WELL Summer Institute was “Co-Creating Possibilities: Leisure, Recreation, and Wellness – Opportunities for Engaging the Older Adult”. In this one-week project-based learning experience, multidisciplinary teams worked through a design process, from problem definition to brainstorming solutions, developing business models and knowledge mobilization plans, to successfully pitching the projects.

Weina and her team created a project to increase seniors’ engagement in a variety of activities. They designed a mobile app they named “PlayWell.” It recommends engaging activities for newly-retired populations to fight against boredom. During the development of the projects, the team received mentorship from AGE-WELL members about defining a problem definition with stakeholders, designing a business model and developing a market strategy.

Recipients of AGE-WELL’s 3rd Annual EPIC Summer Institute at Banff.

Sep 16 2017
0

Undergraduate Researcher Kathryn Cruz pitches at Fraser Health Research Day

By | Collaborations, Events, Lab Updates

Kathryn Cruz was named 1 of 15 finalists selected to present at the Fraser Health – Simon Fraser University’s collaborative 3rd Annual Research Day. This event aimed at building new research collaborations between Fraser Health and Simon Fraser University. It fosters relationships between decisions makers, practitioners, and front-line staff with academic researchers.

Kathryn presented research titled “Virtual Reality as a Diagnostic Tool to Assess Probability of Relapse in Addiction Patients,” led by supervisors Dr. Faranak Farzan (Mechatronics) and Dr. Diane Gromala (Pain Studies Lab).

“Research like this really aims at maintaining a clinician-patient relationship about their treatment,” Kathryn states, “but simultaneously builds self-efficacy needed for patients to build resilience during their addiction rehabilitation.”

The event was held at Simon Fraser University in Surrey on November 3, 2017. Kathryn was mentored by Fraser Health decision makers and practitioners to help supplement and provide support to move the study forward.

Photograph: Kathryn Cruz at the Fraser Health – Simon Fraser University’s collaborative 3rd Annual Research Day on November 3, 2017.

May 11 2017
0

Pain Lab Undergrad Researchers Henry Lo & Janice Ng won Surrey Top 25 under 25 Awards

By | Awards, Events

Janice Ng and Henry Lo, two of SIAT’s undergraduate students were named the “Top 25 Under 25” by Surrey’s Board of Trade on April 20th 2017. They received their awards at the 7th annual City of Surrey event which celebrated “the incredible initiatives of Surrey’s youth 25 years old or younger.”

The 25 winners were chosen for their business or community achievements, leadership ability, community involvement, professional achievements and uniqueness of their business or community projects.

Janice & Henry worked with Prof. Gromala and BC Children’s Hospital chief oncologist Dr. Caron Strahlendorf to create, build & test a pain distraction VR game (Farmooo) for teens undergoing chemotherapy. They are now working to install and sustain it at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

The research from Farmooo will also be featured as a “Hot Topic” at the Canadian Pain Society’s (CPS) Annual Scientific Conference in Halifax in May.

         Figure 1. Farmooo VR Game Title Screenshot

Figure 2. Henry in Head-Mounted Display testing Farmooo

Figure 3. Surrey Top 25 under 25 Award Ceremony (Janice Ng and Henry Lo)