“Pain-on-a-Chip” Platform for Discrimination of Various Chronic Pain Types

Chronic pain is a major global health issue that remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. Improving pain management requires new strategies that can objectively distinguish between pain conditions while minimising the subjectivity associated with pain perception. My research develops a “pain-on-a-chip” platform, which uses tiny microfluidic devices that require only small sample volumes and incorporate sensory neurons acting as living sensors to detect pain-related signals in body fluids. This model enables the measurement of subtle differences between chronic pain types and offers a minimally invasive system for understanding individual variability and exploring personalised therapeutic approaches.