PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and method for objectively and quantitatively assessing and characterizing pain in patients--particularly, in young children, infants, neonates, and non-verbal patients or otherwise verbally or cognitively challenged patients, such as patients with developmental disabilities.SOLUTION: A algometer 500 includes: a neuro-selective stimulator 502 for applying electrical stimulation; a cortical activity monitor 504 for measuring a level of cortical activity; and a microprocessor connected to the neuro-selective stimulator and the cortical activity monitor and configured to correlate the intensity of the electrical stimulation with the level of activity in one or more regions of a patient's brain and to determine at least one of a measurement of pain intensity, a measurement of a sensory detection threshold (SDT), a measurement of a drug's analgesic impact, an indication of an onset of tolerance to a drug, an indication of an onset of analgesic-induced hyperalgesia, an indication of conditions of allodynia, a measurement of dose-response characteristics of pain management drugs, and a characterization of a pain condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HUMAN ALGOMETRY