Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Medical Centre in Washington opens new Pain Medicine Care Complex

Washington, D.C., April 8, 2013 (WAM) - The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Medical Centre in Washington, D.C., has opened a new Pain Medicine Care Complex for children, which aims to eliminate their pain by addressing each patient's pain from every angle. The Pain Medicine Care Complex combines new treatment approaches with sophisticated data collection via novel gaming technology that fully engages young patients and also objectively measures their treatment progress, for the first time ever. The Complex will serve the needs of patients from around the world. The Pain Medicine Care Complex is part of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, which launched in 2009. The institute, which aims to make surgery more precise, less invasive, and pain free for children, was made possible by a US$150 million gift from the Government of Abu Dhabi to Children's National Medical Center. "The establishment of the Pain Medicine Care Complex is another indication of the strong relationship between Children's National Medical Centre and the Unites Arab Emirates (UAE). That relationship is built on a common vision of improving the quality of life for children around the world. Through this collaboration, we are able to develop the research that takes place at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and explore technological innovation to make paediatric care more precise, less invasive, and pain free. We are truly grateful for the support we receive from the UAE that allows us to investigate and adopt unprecedented solutions that improve the lives of children in the U.S., the U.A.E. and the rest of the world," said Dr. Peter Kim, Vice President of the Sheikh Zayed Institute at Children's National. Pain is one of the main reasons people - children and adults - seek medical help. And yet, pain, especially in children, is still largely misunderstood. Internationally recognised experts in pain medicine, are for the first time directly applying research to improve clinical care for children using this Distract, Measure, Treat approach that is already showing results. "Through a cost-effective, continuous loop where evidence drives clinical care, and clinical care drives research, Children's National is advancing paediatric pain medical research to improve the lives of children and reduce health care costs," said Julia Finkel, MD, Lead Principal Investigator of the Pain Medicine Initiative at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and Vice Chief of the Division of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Children's National. "Using our unique approach - Distract, Measure, Treat - we can dramatically improve patient outcomes in the short term while simultaneously driving long-term research to transform how care is delivered to children in the United States and around the world." According to data collected by Children's National, approximately one in four parents of patients treated at the hospital has to quit their job or reduce working hours to care for a child in pain. Frequently, these patients also are misdiagnosed or treated for another disease. Pain is often not acknowledged as a unique diagnosis, but rather linked only to other, specific conditions. Misdiagnosis, along with uncoordinated, inefficient care and lost work productivity, can drive up the cost of treating paediatric (and adult) pain. "Until now, it has been impossible to quantitatively measure and monitor chronic pain in children," said Sarah Rebstock, MD, PhD, Clinical Director of the Pain Medicine Program and a Principal Investigator of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation. "Children's National has developed a promising solution to this problem that applies objective measurement to video gaming therapy that is uniquely designed for paediatrics. The data we collect will enable us to optimise care for each individual patient we treat at the Pain Medicine Care Complex, while also evaluating the success of various treatments over time." Children's National's pain medicine program is the first of its kind to use one-of-a-kind video gaming therapy, holistic therapeutic tools, and digital data collection to enable short and long-term measurement of patient progress. For the first time, physicians can quantitatively measure pain and assess treatment progress in paediatric patients - all within an environment that was specially designed for children and teens. The Complex features the following elements: A Multi-Sensory Room (MSR) in which a physical therapist uses video gaming therapy that distracts the patient, while simultaneously digitally measuring treatment progress through Kinect technology and a proprietary software application to gather patient data in real-time, which targets and tracks 24 musculoskeletal points in the body. A high-tech, interactive POD bed designed by renowned interior designer Alberto Frias that serves as a biofeedback environment, including heart rate monitors, soothing lights and music, and tools to monitor a patient's response to therapy and reduce patient anxiety. State-of-the-art teleconference and telemedicine technology allows the pain medicine experts at Children's National to diagnose and treat patients around the world. – Emirates News Agency, WAM