NICU Pain Assessment Reimagined: International Trial Deploys Machine Learning and Skin-to-Skin Contact to Transform Preterm Infant Pain Care
247 Health News Editorial
·31 July 2026
·4 min read
·clinical-trialsA York University-led international observational trial is deploying multimodal physiological monitoring and machine learning to build an objective neonatal pain detection algorithm, while simultaneously investigating the developmental mechanisms of skin-to-skin contact analgesia in preterm infants. With 400 participants targeted across Canadian and UK NICUs and a completion date of March 2030, the study could fundamentally reshape how acute pain is assessed and managed in the world's most vulnerable patients.
Originally reported by ClinicalTrials.gov
References
- 1.York University. (2022). Rebooting infant pain care: Using machine learning and skin-to-skin contact to exponentially improve neonatal intensive care unit practice. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05579496
- 2.Grunau, R. E. (2013). Neonatal pain in very preterm infants: Long-term effects on brain, neurodevelopment and pain reactivity. Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 4(4), e0025. https://doi.org/10.5041/RMMJ.10132
- 3.Stevens, B., Johnston, C., Petryshen, P., & Taddio, A. (1996). Premature Infant Pain Profile: Development and initial validation. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 12(1), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002508-199603000-00008
- 4.Ranger, M., & Grunau, R. E. (2014). Early repetitive pain in preterm infants in relation to the developing brain. Pain Management, 4(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.2217/pmt.14.19
- 5.Johnston, C., Campbell-Yeo, M., Disher, T., Benoit, B., Fernandes, A., Streiner, D., Inglis, D., & Zee, R. (2017). Skin-to-skin care for procedural pain in neonates. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017(2), CD008435. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008435.pub3
- 6.Moultrie, F., Slater, R., & Hartley, C. (2017). Improving the treatment of infant pain. Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care, 11(2), 112–117. https://doi.org/10.1097/SPC.0000000000000264
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247 Health News Editorial
247 Health News is a medical intelligence platform delivering evidence-based research appraisals, clinical trial monitoring, and health technology news for healthcare professionals.
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