Because better outcomes start with better insights
Pain can be deeply distressing, especially for those who cannot reliably communicate their experience. Since pain may manifest differently in each person, personalised insights that indicate how a person is being impacted by pain are crucial to ensuring compassionate and effective care.
Through years of continuous improvement, PainChek® has become a reliable and trusted tool empowering caregivers to truly understand a person’s pain—because everyone’s experience is unique.
With AI-driven technology and user-guided features, PainChek® identifies pain with consistency, creating personalised pain profiles that help deliver better care outcomes for those who need it most.
AI-based accuracy: Uses advanced AI to accurately assess the presence of facial indicators of pain, where a person cannot reliably verbalise their discomfort.
Comprehensive: Evaluates 42 pain-related indicators across six key areas – Face, Voice, Movement, Behaviour, Activity, and Body – capturing the full picture of each person’s pain.
Personalised: Creates unique, detailed pain profiles that show how pain is impacting the person, empowering healthcare professionals to deliver treatments tailored to each person’s needs.
Fast and efficient: Complete digital pain assessments in under 3 minutes.
Advanced reporting: PainChek® Analytics provides actionable insights to support better care decisions at individual, site, and organisational levels.
Clinically validated: The world’s first regulatory-approved medical device for pain assessment, trusted by 1,800+ organisations to deliver better care outcomes.
Easy to implement: Seamless online onboarding, training, and implementation.
Seamless integration: PainChek® integrates with 30+ leading medication management and care management systems.
Mobile convenience: Available for download on the iOS App Store or Google Play.
“The question we always ask is: what is most important for the resident, but also for the family? Every time, they just want their loved one to be pain-free. A big part of that comes down to better pain management through PainChek®. It enables accurate pain assessment upfront, as well as a quicker response time and follow-up. We now have zero chemical restraints for residents.”
– Director of Care & Services at St Mary’s Villa
Interested in learning how we can support you to deliver personalised pain management across your organisation?
Book a session with the PainChek team here or by calling 1800 098 809.
The impact of PainChek® pain profiles: Insights that change lives
Even if two residents have the same pain score, their care needs can be vastly different. PainChek®’s personalised pain profiles deliver the vital insights that enable healthcare teams to develop truly individualised care plans, significantly improving each resident’s quality of life.
John’s story: Finding comfort and connection
John, a 77-year-old resident with advanced Alzheimer’s disease and osteoarthritis, had become withdrawn over time. Struggling with pain and confusion, he spent most of his days lying down, avoiding touch and social interactions.
Carers noticed these changes, but without a way to communicate with him effectively, they couldn’t fully understand his pain or how it affected his daily life.
How PainChek® supports personalised care for John
A PainChek® assessment revealed that John was experiencing moderate pain (score of 14), with key behavioural indicators such as prolonged rest, fear of touch, and social withdrawal.
This deeper understanding of John’s pain allowed carers to create a more personalised pain management plan that addressed his unique needs.
Gentle physical therapy was introduced to alleviate his osteoarthritis, while calming techniques helped ease his fear of touch. Gradually, John began to participate in social activities at his own pace.
The result
With a tailored care approach, John showed remarkable improvement. His mobility improved, leading to a reduction in falls, and he began to engage more with others, improving his overall well-being.
David’s story: Easing distress and restoring calm
David, a 70-year-old with advanced Alzheimer’s, had recently suffered an injury. His pain manifested in distressing behaviours, including confusion and resistance to care.
Carers could see he was struggling, but his inability to communicate made it challenging to identify the true source of his distress.
How PainChek® supports personalised care for David
A PainChek® assessment also revealed a moderate pain score (14), alongside behavioural indicators like confusion and resistance to care.
This detailed profile gave carers the insight they needed to understand David’s pain better and how it affected his behaviour.
With this knowledge, the healthcare team created a customised pain management plan, including tailored pain relief and a more structured daily routine to help David rest. Behavioural strategies were employed to reduce his distress, creating a calming atmosphere.
The result
With PainChek®’s insights guiding the way, David’s distress lessened, he became more cooperative with care, and he required less one-on-one care.
How PainChek®’s AI-based facial analysis works
PainChek® uses advanced AI to identify facial expressions that indicate pain. This facial analysis is especially effective for those with cognitive impairments, as they can’t control or mask their facial expressions. Facial cues provide vital signals that PainChek® uses during the process of pain identification.
- Assessment is completed: PainChek® evaluates six key areas – Face, Voice, Movement, Behaviour, Activity, and Body—to gain a holistic understanding of the individual’s pain.
- Pain profile is created: Based on the assessment, PainChek® generates a personalised pain profile, offering insights into how the individual experiences and expresses pain.
- Data is recorded in real time: All assessment data (but no images) is securely stored in PainChek®’s cloud portal, enabling continuous tracking of pain trends and treatment effectiveness.
- Insights drive decision-making: Detailed reports from PainChek® Analytics provide actionable insights, helping caregivers understand how pain is experienced and tailor a personalised approach to care.
PainChek®’s AI model has been trained to consistently recognise pain-related facial expressions.
Two paths to better pain management
PainChek® offers a hybrid approach to assess facial expressions: an AI-driven automated pain expression analysis, and a user-guided pain assessment. The automated mode scans all facial expressions at once, while the user-guided mode allows carers to observe and assess each pain indicator one by one.
The user-guided mode may be used in situations where an AI-driven automated approach is not suitable due to conditions such as poor lighting or too much movement, or where the environment is not safe to do so.
This allows you to choose the approach that best fits the needs of the person at the time of assessment.
To learn more about PainChek®’s hybrid approach, download the PainChek® Difference brochure.
Transforming lives through proven clinical outcomes
15.9 million clinical pain assessments have been conducted using PainChek®, bringing life-changing pain management to more than 1,900+ facilities across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the EU, and North America.
With regulatory approval and global recognition, PainChek® has driven remarkable and growing positive outcomes for clients and partners around the world, including:
- Increase in the frequency of pain assessments
- Increase in the number of residents on regular pain relief as a result of newly identified pain
- Reduction in the use of antipsychotic drugs, benzodiazepines & PRN analgesia
- Reduction in the number of falls
- Reduction in safeguarding reports
- Increased workforce knowledge of pain and how pain manifests in people with dementia and cognitive impairment
- Greater workforce confidence in identifying pain and recognising non-verbal pain cues
Learn more in our summary report: Driving Positive Clinical Outcomes for Care Homes. Get your free copy here
Independent KPMG evaluation of PainChek® (Australia)
Global advisory firm KPMG undertook an evaluation of the national rollout of PainChek® across residential aged care facilities in Australia.
85% of respondents reported benefits of using PainChek®, including:
- Improved ability to identify pain
- Increased knowledge of pain and how pain manifests in people with dementia and cognitive impairment
- Greater workforce confidence in identifying pain and recognising non-verbal cues
- Improvements in resident health outcomes
- 85% of respondents also said sharing results prompted a change in treatment pathways, including medications prescribed
