Browsing by Subject "Psychophysical"

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    Analysis of the efficacy of EPIONE therapies to treat phantom limb pain
    (2017-03) Comoglio, Caleb C.; Yoshida, Ken
    The primary objectives of this thesis are (1) to discuss the current understanding of phenomena associated with, proposed mechanisms of, and suggested treatments for amputation related pain, (2) to describe the software developed for analyzing results of a clinical study for the treatment of phantom limb pain (PLP), (3) to discuss the methods for a multi-center trial by the EPIONE consortium along with presenting preliminary results, and (4) to discuss the methods and results of a case study involving a new therapy modality for alleviating PLP. Each objective has been expanded into a chapter as described below. Chapter 1 serves as a literature review introducing the topic of amputation, associ- ated phenomena, and proposed mechanisms. The chapter also discusses the currently available treatments and the instruments used to measure PLP. Key topics include the definition of PLP, the prevalence of PLP, current treatment options for PLP, and experimental measurement of PLP. The final objective of this chapter is to introduce topics related to the investigation paradigm utilized for the studies following in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. Therefore, a minor emphasis has been put on surface electrical stimulation (SES) and operant conditioning. As with any multi-center clinical study, coordination is key. Chapter 2 introduces the common clinical protocol (CCP) and methods of analysis for the clinical trials conducted by the EPIONE consortium. In order to analyze results in an automated fashion, a software tool was developed. This tool, the EPIONE Extraction Program (EEP) along with its extension the Group Analysis Module (GAM), is the focus of Chapter 3. A high-level overview of the requirements, process flow, and software testing are described. This chapter also discusses the methods of analysis for several self-report instruments used to determine effect size in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. The outputs of the software tools make up the results presented and described in these chapters. In addition to the details included in Chapter 3, supplemental information is available in Appendix A and Appendix B, which are the detailed User Guides for the EEP and GAM. Chapter 4 reviews the pilot study data conducted by the EPIONE consortium. The primary and two secondary instruments used for analysis are discussed. This chapter provides a brief overview of results from the group. Each clinical site used slightly different variations of a common clinical protocol to better understand what effectively drives alleviation of PLP and to allow comparison of results. The work done at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) represents a small part of several other universities involved in the EPIONE consortium. Chapter 5 focuses on a case study at IUPUI with a more in-depth review of data collected throughout the study period. Using SES, we seek to reverse cortical reorganization by giving meaningful stimuli through existing circuitry. In this chapter the present work is discussed by introducing a case study in detail with an analysis of psychophysical data.