Validating and Evaluating the Pain Medicine Digital Workflow Algorithm (PGS 1.0)

September 24, 2026 updated by: PG Medical Systems Ltd.

Prospective Validation and Performance Evaluation of the Algorithm of the Pain Medicine Digital Workflow (PGS 1.0)

This is a prospective, non-randomized, double blind, single center, single arm, validation study, to evaluate the performance of PGS 1.0 algorithm in analyzing pain specific symptoms and medical history data of pain patients referred to a pain expert consultation.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Background and Rationale:

Chronic pain is a global epidemic. On average, 20% of the Western population suffers from chronic pain, and in some countries, such as the U.S., the number reaches up to 30%. When chronic pain is not properly diagnosed and treated, it leads not only to patient suffering but also to serious comorbidities, increased use of healthcare services, and, in growing numbers, addiction and misuse of prescription drugs.

Pain medicine, a relatively young medical field, offers evidence-based diagnosis and treatment tailored to the patient's pain mechanisms. However, there is a major gap between the large number of patients and the very limited number of pain specialists (around 4,000 in the U.S. and about 80 in Israel). This shortage leads to extremely long waiting times (5-6 months) while patients continue to suffer.

To help close this gap, PG Medical Systems, together with Dr. Simon Wolfson (Head of the Pain Institute at Rambam Health Care Campus), developed an algorithm that analyzes patient symptoms and provides recommendations for pain diagnosis and treatment pathways.

Study Objective:

The study aims to prospectively validate the algorithm's performance by collecting patient data via an online questionnaire at the Rambam Pain Institute. The results will compare the algorithm's diagnoses to those of pain specialists.

Study Procedures:

Patients visiting the Rambam Pain Institute (first-time or follow-up appointments) will be invited to join the study. After signing informed consent, they will complete an online questionnaire with the help of a research assistant. This is a one-time activity, following their medical consultation. The study does not involve additional clinical follow-up. Participation will not affect the patient's diagnosis or treatment.

Duration:

Each participant will spend about 45-60 minutes, including the consent process and questionnaire completion.

Compensation:

Participants will receive 100 NIS for their time.

Data Management and Privacy:

The study will collect only non-identifiable patient data. Each participant will be assigned a code number. Identifying details will remain securely stored at Rambam, linked only by the consent form. This allows for possible follow-up research but ensures that the sponsor company has access only to de-identified data.

Data Security:

All data is stored on Amazon's secure cloud with advanced encryption. Access requires strict authentication, servers are closed to public internet, and only approved private networks can connect. All data is encrypted in transfer and storage. Importantly, the system does not collect identifiable patient information.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Israel
      • Haifa, Israel, 31906
        • Recruiting
        • Pain Medicine Institute, Rambam Health Care Campus
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Simon Vulfsons, MD
        • Contact:
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Amir Minerbi, MD PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Male and Female patients aged 18-80, consecutively all patients referred to a pain expert.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient is willing and capable of providing Informed Consent.
  • Pain persisting for at least 1 month.

Exclusion Criteria:

None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: CASE_ONLY
  • Time Perspectives: PROSPECTIVE

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Agreement by percent agreement
Time Frame: At the completion of patients' enrollment, agreement will be assessed between PGS 1.0 diagnosis and the expert diagnosis per patient (diagnosis of expert at the intake to the pain clinic and PGS 1.0 diagnosis as per the data the patient filled in).

Interrater reliability defined as the agreement between the PGS 1.0 algorithm and Pain Expert in rating pain patients' pain diagnosis as measured by percent agreement.
At the completion of patients' enrollment, agreement will be assessed between PGS 1.0 diagnosis and the expert diagnosis per patient (diagnosis of expert at the intake to the pain clinic and PGS 1.0 diagnosis as per the data the patient filled in).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Agreement by Cohen's Kappa coefficient.
Time Frame: At the completion of patients' enrollment, agreement will be assessed between PGS 1.0 diagnosis and the expert diagnosis per patient (diagnosis of expert at the intake to the pain clinic and PGS 1.0 diagnosis as per the data the patient filled in).

Interrater reliability defined as the agreement between the PGS 1.0 algorithm and Pain Expert in rating pain patients' diagnosis as measured by Cohen's Kappa coefficient.
At the completion of patients' enrollment, agreement will be assessed between PGS 1.0 diagnosis and the expert diagnosis per patient (diagnosis of expert at the intake to the pain clinic and PGS 1.0 diagnosis as per the data the patient filled in).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

PG Medical Systems Ltd.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Simon Vulfsons, MD, Rambam Health Care Campus

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 17, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 16, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 25, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

September 26, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 24, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PG-100-004

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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