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- PainChek (PCK) had a period of continued growth in the December quarter, particularly in the aged care sector
- As of December 31, PainChek had 884 residential aged care facilities and over 71,300 approved beds under annual licences using its solution
- This represents a year-on-year growth of 133 per cent and 123 per cent, respectively
- The PainChek application uses a smartphone camera to record a short video of the user’s face and then analyses it using facial recognition analysis
- It automatically recognises facial muscle movements that indicate pain and then takes note of them
- PainChek is now looking to expand into the disability, home care and infant markets
- As of December 31, PainChek had a cash balance of $12.4 million
- PainChek is up 5.63 per cent on the market and shares are trading at 7.5 cents
PainChek (PCK) had a period of continued growth in the December quarter, particularly in the aged care sector.
The company’s namesake application, PainChek, is a fast and simple solution that uses the smartphone camera to record a short video of the user’s face and then analyse it using facial recognition analytics.
It automatically recognises facial muscle movements that indicate pain and then takes note of them.
The caregiver then uses the software to record observations of pain-related behaviour such as how the person is moving and vocalising pain.
PainChek then calculates an overall pain score and stores the results, allowing the caregiver to monitor the effect of medication and treatment over time.
Aged care sector
As of December 31 2020, PainChek had 884 residential aged care facilities and 71,318 approved beds under annual licences, representing a year-on-year growth of 133 per cent and 123 per cent, respectively.
The company then contracted an initial 4431 residential aged care beds across the country.
Unfortunately, several large agreements were delayed due to the re-emergence of COVID-19 outbreaks in late December and the Christmas shutdown.
Discussions have resumed and PainChek expects continued growth throughout the year.
During the COVID-19 restrictions, PainChek undertook remote training and 400 virtual workshops. Almost 3200 aged care clinicians have now been trained.
Pleasingly, more than 260,000 PainChek assessments have been conducted in aged care, representing year-on-year growth of 190 per cent.
Market expansion
Home care and disability market
PainChek is currently undertaking four pilot programs with aged care providers in Australia with three coming to a close in early 2021.
Once completed, this will provide a stable footing for entering the market.
On January 27, PainChek will enter the Canadian home care market in partnership with AlayaCare. Additionally, discussions are ongoing to enter the U.K. market.
PainChek is in an initial disability licence agreement with the Nulsen Group in Western Australia and the Disability Trust in Wollongong with aims to enter the disability market later in the year.
Universal pain assessment solution
PainChek has expanded its app to include a numeric scale rating (NSR) for use in patients who cannot verbalise their pain.
This updated app is currently being tested and is expected to be available during Q1 CY21.
PainChek Infant
In a separate announcement, PainChek announced that the PainChek Infant Face-Only clinical study has been successful in use on infants.
This study was developed to test the practicality of using PainChek Infant as an indicator of pain and the use of video recordings in infant undergoing painful procedures.
PainChek Infant is now on schedule for Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and CE Mark approval in Q2 CY21.
“PainChek is so much more than an Australia Aged Care App. It will be a universal pain assessment solution for all people – adults and kids – useable by every healthcare professional in all locations. We are on our way to becoming a new healthcare vital sign,” CEO Philip Daffas said.
“While 2020 was challenging for many businesses, we successfully continued to deliver with significant sales growth. This included pivoting to a fully digital sales and delivery model that met the immediate needs of our clients,” he added.
Financials
As of December 31, PainChek had a cash balance of $12.4 million.
PainChek is up 5.63 per cent on the market and shares are trading at 7.5 cents at 2:55 pm AEDT.
