Overview

• PainWaive combines a custom 3D-printed EEG headset with a neurofeedback game app to train users to normalize brainwaves linked to neuropathic pain.
• In a four-week pilot study, three out of four participants experienced significant pain reductions comparable to or exceeding those offered by opioids.
• Researchers reduced the cost of the EEG headset to about $300 through in-house design, aiming to make PainWaive an affordable at-home therapy.
• Dr. Negin Hesam-Shariati emphasized that the small sample size and study design limit the ability to generalize results or rule out placebo effects.
• The team is recruiting for two upcoming trials—a Spinal Pain Trial and a StoPain Trial for spinal cord injury patients—to confirm PainWaive’s broader safety and efficacy.