Vol. 3 No. 7 (2023)
Horizon Scans

Facial Analysis Technology for Pain Detection: A Potentially Useful Tool for People Living With Dementia

Published July 6, 2023

Key Messages

  • Pain is a common symptom for people living with dementia; however, older adults with cognitive impairments or dementia are less likely to be diagnosed with pain or receive appropriate pain management, which may lead to misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatments.
  • PainChek is a point-of-care app that aims to support care providers with the detection of pain for those who cannot reliably communicate their pain, including adults living with dementia.
  • This Horizon Scan summarizes information regarding effectiveness, cost, availability, and some of the issues to consider should PainChek or other artificial intelligence–enabled pain detection apps be widely implemented.