UPDATE: October 23, 2024
Sprint for Women’s Health Announces Awardees, Featuring Project on Quantifying Neuropathic Pain
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has unveiled the awardees of the Sprint for Women’s Health— a funding opportunity to address critical unmet challenges in women’s health, champion transformative innovations, and tackle health conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. With $100 million committed to this effort, ARPA-H’s Sprint focuses on conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women.
Sameer Sonkusale, Ph.D., from Tufts University, was awarded three million dollars for research on a Multi-Modal Smart Band-Aid for AI-driven pain quantification, addressing the question: What if women’s pain could be quantitatively assessed in real-time with wearable sensors?
The objective of the project is “to develop tools and methods to quantify nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain. This project aims to quantify pain objectively based on a wide panel of biophysical and biochemical markers. The platform is based on a smart “band-aids:” a self-powered biochemical sensing patch to monitor a suite of chemical biomarkers in interstitial fluid, a non-invasive source of biomarkers. Importantly, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning will be utilized to develop a single objective score of pain.”
Learn more about this exciting announcement and the potential impacts it holds for women’s health on the Sprint for Women’s Health page: https://arpa-h.gov/engage-and-transition/sprint
UPDATE: February 23, 2024
In January, The Facial Pain Association (FPA) partnered with the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA) and nineteen other organizations urging the White House Women’s Health Research Initiative to prioritize migraine and other headache disorders, including neuropathic facial pain.
On February 21, 2024, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden announced $100 million in research funding through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), specifically acknowledging headache disorders. Neuropathic facial pain, including trigeminal neuralgia, is diagnostically classified by the International Headache Society in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, making this a step in the right direction for the facial pain community.
The FPA, along with its fellow partners, are pleased with this outcome. We remain dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of neuropathic facial pain.
Read First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s full remarks at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/02/21/remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-first-lady-jill-biden-to-announce-the-100-million-arpa-h-sprint-for-womens-health/.
For more information about the FPA’s research and advocacy efforts, please contact Brandi Underwood, Manager of Development, Research, and Advocacy at [email protected], visit www.FacePain.org/Research, or call 800-923-3608.
January 18, 2024
The Facial Pain Association (FPA) co-signed a letter from the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy (AHDA) urging the White House Women’s Health Research Initiative to prioritize migraine and other headache disorders, including neuropathic facial pain.
The Facial Pain Association joined nineteen organizations, including the AHDA and the American Academy of Neurology, to identify and outline specific initiatives and recommendations addressing the challenges faced by the migraine and headache community, including neuropathic facial pain. The letter also emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive and inclusive approach to women’s health research.
Brandi Underwood, the FPA’s Manager of Development, Research, and Advocacy, expressed the importance of this partnership, stating,
“Our collaboration with the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy amplifies our collective voice in advocating for the prioritization of headache disorders. The inclusion of neuropathic facial pain in this effort is a vital step toward addressing the specific challenges faced by individuals with conditions like trigeminal neuralgia. By standing together, we can drive meaningful change and ensure that individuals facing these challenges receive the support and recognition they deserve.”
Neuropathic facial pain, including trigeminal neuralgia, is diagnostically classified by the International Headache Society in the International Classification of Headache Disorders.
For additional information about the letter and the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy’s efforts, please click the button below.
About the Facial Pain Association: The Facial Pain Association (FPA) is a registered non-profit, 501(c)(3) volunteer-led and community-focused organization. The FPA is the largest patient organization supporting all people affected by neuropathic facial pain, leading the world in resources for information and healthcare guidance. Through programs of education, personal support, and advocacy efforts, the FPA supports patients, their loved ones and caregivers, and healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat people affected by facial pain.
