Stimulator to Quantify Cutaneous Sensation

描述（由申请人提供）：徒手疗法目前用于治疗许多导致皮肤感觉改变的病症。在这种情况下评估手法治疗效果的一种方法是评估治疗前后感觉的任何变化。然而，这通常是使用相当不精确的方法来完成的。我们建议开发一种计算机控制的机械皮肤刺激器，该刺激器将压痕皮肤并允许定量确定轻微压痕或疼痛的阈值。刺激器将通过一组程序进行操作，这些程序将允许（a）量化特定位置的感觉丧失或增强的程度，（b）确定受影响区域的物理范围，以及（c）确定这些参数随时间的变化。我们建议开发一种由计算机控制的机械刺激器组成的系统，该刺激器将压痕皮肤并允许定量确定轻微压痕或疼痛的阈值。刺激器将通过一组程序进行操作，这些程序将允许（a）量化特定位置的感觉丧失或增强的程度，（b）确定受影响区域的物理范围，以及（c）确定这些参数随时间的变化。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Manual therapies are currently used to treat a number of conditions that result in altered cutaneous sensation. One way that has been used to assess the effect of manual therapies in such conditions has been to evaluate any changes in sensation before and after the treatment. However this has typically been done using methods that are quite imprecise. We propose to develop a computer-controlled mechanical cutaneous stimulator that will indent the skin and allow for quantitative determination of the thresholds for either gentle indentation or pain. The stimulator will be operated with a set of programs that will allow for (a) quantifying the degree of sensory loss or enhancement at a particular location, (b) determining the physical extent of the affected area, and (c) determining changes in these parameters over time We propose to develop a system comprising a computer-controlled mechanical stimulator that will indent the skin and allow for quantitative determination of the thresholds for either gentle indentation or pain. The stimulator will be operated with a set of programs that will allow for (a) quantifying the degree of sensory loss or enhancement at a particular location, (b) determining the physical extent of the affected area, and (c) determining changes in these parameters over time.