Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Robotics Technology for Pain Treatment and Management: A Review

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Social Robotics (ICSR 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 13817))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

The use of robots for pain management is a new and active research field. The aim of this scoping review is to identify current research, which groups or conditions are being targeted for treatment, which devices are being used, and how effective they have been. Using the PRISMA protocol for scoping reviews, papers were identified using university libraries, Google scholar and additional databases relating to healthcare or engineering including AMED, NICE Evidence, and OTSeeker. Included were articles involved user trials of a robot or device to manage or alleviate pain, with a quantitative measure of pain or pain anxiety. 17 articles were analysed, of which 12 reported statistically significant improvement of pain measures. The scope and trial design of these articles varied widely. Most devices used were socially assistive robots, with others using robots for physical therapy. Most robots were used for treatment of procedural pain. Others addressed chronic pain, particularly in people with dementia. A variety of established pain measurement techniques were used to quantify difference in perceived pain or pain anxiety. There may be benefits to using some robotic technologies to manage pain for both acute and chronic pain conditions, within certain populations. However, this research field is still new, and more studies are required to demonstrate efficacy. Future studies should look to use methodologies from clinical trials to improve the quality of their results.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Abdi, J., Al-Hindawi, A., Ng, T., Vizcaychipi, M.P.: Scoping review on the use of socially assistive robot technology in elderly care. BMJ Open 8(2) (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Alemi, M., Ghanbarzadeh, A., Meghdari, A., Moghadam, L.J.: Clinical application of a Humanoid robot in pediatric cancer interventions. Int. J. Soc. Robot. 8(5), 743–759 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ali, S., et al.: A randomized trial of robot-based distraction to reduce children’s distress and pain during intravenous insertion in the emergency department. Can. J. Emerg. Med. 23(1), 85–93 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ariji, Y., et al.: Potential clinical application of masseter and temporal muscle massage treatment using an oral rehabilitation robot in temporomandibular disorder patients with myofascial pain. CRANIO® 33(4), 256–262 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bartneck, C., Nomura, T., Kanda, T., Suzuki, T., Kato, K.: A cross-cultural study on attitudes towards robots. In: Proceedings of the HCI International 2005, Las Vegas. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bedwell, C., Dowswell, T., Neilson, J.P., Lavender, T.: The use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief in labour: a review of the evidence. Midwifery 27(5), 141–148 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Beraldo, G., Menegatti, E., De Tommasi, V., Mancin, R., Benini, F.: A preliminary investigation of using humanoid social robots as non-pharmacological techniques with children. In: Proceedings of IEEE Workshop on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts, ARSO 2019-Octob, pp. 393–400 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Beran, T.N., Ramirez-Serrano, A., Vanderkooi, O.G., Kuhn, S.: Reducing children’s pain and distress towards flu vaccinations: a novel and effective application of humanoid robotics. Vaccine 31(25), 2772–2777 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Borboni, A., et al.: Robot-assisted rehabilitation of hand paralysis after stroke reduces wrist edema and pain: a prospective clinical trial. J. Manipul. Physiol. Ther. 40(1), 21–30 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Broadbent, E., Stafford, R., MacDonald, B.: Acceptance of healthcare robots for the older population: review and future directions. Int. J. Soc. Robot. 1(4), 319–330 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bruckenthal, P.: Integrating nonpharmacologic and alternative strategies into a comprehensive management approach for older adults with pain. Pain Manag. Nurs. 11(2), S23–S31 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Cervero, F.: Understanding Pain: Exploring the Perception of Pain. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Chapman, C.R., Casey, K., Dubner, R., Foley, K., Gracely, R., Reading, A.: Pain measurement: an overview. Pain 22(1), 1–31 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Eijlers, R., et al.: Systematic review and meta-analysis of virtual reality in pediatrics: effects on pain and anxiety. Anesth. Analg. 129(5), 1344–1353 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Ellingsen, D.M., Leknes, S., Løseth, G., Wessberg, J., Olausson, H.: The Neurobiology Shaping Affective Touch: Expectation, Motivation, and Meaning in the Multisensory Context (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Farrier, C.E., Pearson, J.D.R., Beran, T.N.: Reducing childrens fear and pain during medical procedures: a nonrandomized trial with a humanoid robot. Can. J. Nurs. Res. 084456211986274 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Feil-Seifer, D., Matarić, M.J.: Defining socially assistive robotics. In: Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE 9th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics 2005, pp. 465–468 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Gallace, A., Spence, C.: The science of interpersonal touch: an overview. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 34(2), 246–259 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Gates, M., et al.: Digital technology distraction for acute pain in children: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics 145(2) (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Geva, N., Uzefovsky, F., Levy-Tzedek, S.: Touching the social robot PARO reduces pain perception and salivary oxytocin levels. Sci. Rep. 10(1) (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hansen, N.V., Jørgensen, T., Ørtenblad, L.: Massage and touch for dementia. Cochrane Datab. Syst. Rev. (4) (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hawthorn, J., Redmond, K.: Pain: causes and management. J. Psychiatric Mental Health Nurs.6(5), 205–211 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Heapy, A.A., Higgins, D.M., Cervone, D., Wandner, L., Fenton, B.T., Kerns, R.D.: A systematic review of technology-assisted self-management interventions for chronic pain: Looking across treatment modalities. Clin. J. Pain 31(6), 470–492 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hicks, C.L., von Baeyer, C.L., Spafford, P.A., van Korlaar, I., Goodenough, B.: The faces pain scale-revised: toward a common metric in pediatric pain measurement. Pain 93(2), 173–183 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Holsti, L., MacLean, K., Oberlander, T., Synnes, A., Brant, R.: Calmer: a robot for managing acute pain effectively in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Pain Rep. 4(2) (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Jibb, L.A., et al.: Using the MEDiPORT humanoid robot to reduce procedural pain and distress in children with cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pediatric Blood Canc. 65(9) (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Karafotias, G., Korres, G., Teranishi, A., Park, W., Eid, M.: Mid-air tactile stimulation for pain distraction. IEEE Trans. Haptics 11(2), 185–191 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Khan, A., Anwar, Y.: Robots in healthcare: a survey. In: Arai, K., Kapoor, S. (eds.) CVC 2019. AISC, vol. 944, pp. 280–292. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17798-0_24

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  29. Kim, M.S., Kim, S.H., Noh, S.E., Bang, H.J., Lee, K.M.: Robotic-assisted shoulder rehabilitation therapy effectively improved poststroke hemiplegic shoulder pain: a randomized controlled trial. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 100(6), 1015–1022 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Lane, G.W., et al.: Effectiveness of a social robot, Paro, in a VA long-term care setting. Psychol. Serv. 13(3), 292–299 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Langley, G., Sheppeard, H.: The visual analogue scale: its use in pain measurement. Rheumatol. Int. 5(4), 145–148 (1985)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Manaloor, R., et al.: Humanoid robot-based distraction to reduce pain and distress during venipuncture in the pediatric emergency department: a randomized controlled trial. Paediatr. Child Health 24(Supplement_2), e43–e43 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  33. March, J.S., Parker, J.D., Sullivan, K., Stallings, P., Conners, C.K.: The multidimensional anxiety scale for children (masc): factor structure, reliability, and validity. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 36(4), 554–565 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Okita, S.Y.: Self-other’s perspective taking: the use of therapeutic robot companions as social agents for reducing pain and anxiety in pediatric patients. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Network. 16(6), 436–441 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Pino, M., Boulay, M., Jouen, F., Rigaud, A.S.: Are we ready for robots that care for us? attitudes and opinions of older adults toward socially assistive robots. Front. Aging Neurosci. 7, 141 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Pu, L., Moyle, W., Jones, C.: How people with dementia perceive a therapeutic robot called PARO in relation to their pain and mood: a qualitative study. J. Clin. Nurs. 29(3–4), 437–446 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Rash, J.A., Aguirre-Camacho, A., Campbell, T.S.: Oxytocin and pain: a systematic review and synthesis of findings. Clin. J. Pain 30(5), 453–462 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Rounsaville, B.J., Carroll, K.M., Onken, L.S.: A stage model of behavioral therapies research: getting started and moving on from stage i. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract. 8(2), 133–142 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Sinatra, R.S.: Acute Pain Management. Cambridge University Press (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Smarr, C.A., et al.: Domestic robots for older adults: attitudes, preferences, and potential. Int. J. Soc. Robot. 6(2), 229–247 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., Craig, J.: Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (coreq): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int. J. Qual. Health Care 19(6), 349–357 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Tricco, A.C., et al.: PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation. Ann. Inter. Med. 169(7), 467–473 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Trost, M.J., Chrysilla, G., Gold, J.I., Matarić, M.: Socially-Assistive robots using empathy to reduce pain and distress during peripheral IV placement in children. Pain Res. Manag. (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Vance, C.G., Dailey, D.L., Rakel, B.A., Sluka, K.A.: Using TENS for pain control: the state of the evidence. Pain Manag. 4(3), 197–209 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. WHO: Icd-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics (2018) (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Williams, N., MacLean, K., Guan, L., Collet, J.P., Holsti, L.: Pilot testing a robot for reducing pain in hospitalized preterm infants. OTJR Occup. Participat. Health 39(2), 108–115 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Winkle, K., Caleb-Solly, P., Turton, A., Bremner, P.: Mutual shaping in the design of socially assistive robots: a case study on social robots for therapy. Int. J. Soc. Robot. 12(4), 1–20 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, NG8 1BB, Nottingham, UK

    Angela Higgins & Praminda Caleb-Solly

  2. Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, UWE, BS16 1QY, Bristol, UK

    Alison Llewellyn & Emma Dures

Authors
  1. Angela Higgins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alison Llewellyn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emma Dures
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Praminda Caleb-Solly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angela Higgins .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Filippo Cavallo

  2. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    John-John Cabibihan

  3. University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Laura Fiorini

  4. University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Alessandra Sorrentino

  5. Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, USA

    Hongsheng He

  6. Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

    Xiaorui Liu

  7. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Japan

    Yoshio Matsumoto

  8. National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Shuzhi Sam Ge

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Higgins, A., Llewellyn, A., Dures, E., Caleb-Solly, P. (2022). Robotics Technology for Pain Treatment and Management: A Review. In: Cavallo, F., et al. Social Robotics. ICSR 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 13817. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24667-8_47

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24667-8_47

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-24666-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-24667-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation