Conference Coverage

Remote Pain-Monitoring Platform Earns High Usability Scores in 30-User Study

Ashton L. Stahl

Key Highlights

  • The platform received an overall usability rating described as excellent, with mean scores of 85.33 among patients and 79.33 among healthcare professionals.
  • All 30 participants reported that the system would be useful in clinical practice.
  • Features included automated reminders, structured pain assessments, multidimensional symptom reporting, and real-time data visualization.

A smartphone-based platform for remote pain monitoring achieved high usability scores among patients and healthcare professionals in a multiphase development and evaluation study. Investigators from the Federal University of Ceará in Fortaleza, Brazil, reported a mean System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 82.33, corresponding to an excellent usability rating.

The findings are scheduled for presentation on October 17 at Anesthesiology 2026 in San Diego. The investigators developed the platform to address episodic pain assessment, which they described as a limitation in perioperative and outpatient care that can delay recognition of clinically significant pain.

The study included system development, expert heuristic validation, iterative refinement, and usability testing. Researchers designed a bidirectional platform with separate clinician and patient interfaces. Patient registration used individualized identification codes, while preconfigured and customizable alert scheduling supported automated reminders for patients to enter symptoms.

The assessment interface combined numerical pain rating scales with color-coded visual gradients and verbal descriptors. Beyond pain intensity, patients could report nausea, pruritus, somnolence, dizziness, and urinary symptoms. A real-time dashboard displayed longitudinal symptom patterns and treatment response. Usability testing included 30 participants: 15 healthcare professionals and 15 patients.

Study Findings

The mean SUS score was 85.33 among patients and 79.33 among healthcare professionals, yielding an overall score of 82.33. Investigators described usability as consistently high across both groups. All participants reported that the platform would be useful in clinical practice.

Qualitative feedback highlighted intuitive navigation, easy symptom reporting, effective automated reminders, and the clinical value of real-time monitoring. The authors reported that the alert system supported structured, repeated assessments without increasing clinician workload. They also stated that the results interface enabled rapid interpretation of symptom trends and treatment response.

Clinical Implications

According to the investigators, combining automated alerts, multidimensional assessments, and real-time visualization enables monitoring beyond traditional bedside evaluations. They described the approach as a strategy to make perioperative pain assessment more continuous, responsive, and patient-centered.

The authors’ conclusions emphasize usability and acceptance by patients and clinicians. The abstract does not report changes in pain intensity, analgesic management, or other clinical outcomes.

Expert Commentary

“This study demonstrates that a smartphone-based digital platform for remote pain monitoring is highly usable and well accepted by both patients and clinicians,” the researchers concluded.

Reference

Ferreira de Lima e Souza P, Medeiros FDC, Gimenes CF. Closing the gap in pain monitoring: a real-time digital platform for remote patient-reported outcomes. Abstract scheduled for presentation at: Anesthesiology 2026; October 16–20, 2026; San Diego, CA. Abstract A1276.