Intellectual Property


ID: N-354

IP Type: Licensable Technology

Title: Algorithm for Prediction of Arthritis Pain based on Weather Forecast

Inventor: Timothy McAlindon

Summary: Tufts-New England Medical Center Categories:

healthcare:management

software


Additional Keywords:

rheumatology, arthritis, pain, predict


Invention Summary


Available from Tufts-New England Medical Center


People with arthritis frequently assert with conviction that weather conditions influence the severity of their pain. Surveys of individuals with rheumatic disorders show that between one and two-thirds believe that their symptoms are weather-sensitive.


Dr. Timothy McAlindon, Chief of Rheumatology at Tufts-New England Medical Center has completed one of the most reliable, well-controlled studies ever carried out on the influence of short-term change in meteorologic exposures on arthritis pain. The study showed a consistent relationship between certain changes in weather conditions and pain in knee osteoarthritis patients. Dr. McAlindon and colleagues have developed an algorithm that predicts arthritis pain based on weather forecast significantly more accurately than instruments currently available to the public.