Oxford-led £11m project aims to tackle chronic pain

The project aims to develop new technology includes skin patches and implants

Scientists at the University of Oxford are leading a new project aimed at developing treatments for chronic pain.

The university said the six-year, £11m programme would combine engineering and neuroscience expertise to "transform how chronic pain is managed".

Through the project, the "world-leading" team hope to produce new technologies to tackle the pains - including a new brain implant.

In the UK, about 28 million people are thought to be affected by chronic pain - with the condition costing the NHS millions of pounds each year.

The Effective Pain Interventions with Neural Engineering (EPIONE) scheme will attempt to target the brain's pain network.

It will recognise chronic pain as a disease of the nervous system, which is often caused by errors in how the brain processes signals during injuries or illnesses.

The EPIONE research team is made up of "world-renowned experts"

Through the project, researchers "expect to deliver several world-first technologies" including a brain implant that can sense and respond to pain signals in real time.

An implantable drug delivery system, which automatically adjusts medication based on a patient's needs, is also expected to be produced.

Prof Tim Denison, who is co-leading the project, said all of those involved were "world-renowned experts in their own field".

"The programme is unique in bringing this level of expertise to work together closely on such a highly integrated project," he said.

"We are including people with the lived experience of chronic pain to co-develop our technologies and research methods."

He said economics was "also a factor" in development, adding: "We want to ensure our technologies are viable for the NHS and beyond."

The University of Cambridge, University of Glasgow, and University College London are also involved in the project.