PainChek leads innovation in AI-based pain assessment

PainChek Ltd (ASX:PCK), a medical device company, is pioneering the use of an app, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for pain assessment in vulnerable individuals unable to communicate their pain due to conditions such as dementia, cognitive impairments, or in pre-verbal children. In and interview with Proactive’s Stephen Gunnion CEO and managing director Philip Daffas highlighted that PainChek’s app is the world’s first regulatory-cleared medical device for this purpose. It utilises AI for facial analysis to detect nine micro facial features indicative of pain, assisting carers in aged care and hospitals to document and score the severity of pain. PainChek has achieved a first mover advantage with patents in the US, Europe, Japan, and the UK, protecting its technology until 2038. The company has regulatory clearance in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, the EU, Singapore, and Malaysia, with ongoing clinical studies in the US aimed at FDA clearance. PainChek reported its fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in the December quarter, with 85,000 licences across 1,400 aged care facilities on three continents. With an annual recurring revenue of around $4 million, the company sees a significant growth opportunity in aged care, home care, and the hospital sector. Key milestones for investors include expansion in regulatory-cleared markets, entry into the US market upon FDA clearance, and the launch of an infant app for pain assessment in the home.