What does a 14th-century painting have to do with artificial intelligence and neuroscience? For McGill University PhD candidate Hannah Derue, the answer is it has a role to play in addressing chronic pain and the need to better understand and express it.
Derue, a researcher at McGill’s Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, is the founder of PAin+, a neuroscience-based startup that uses AI and art to help people communicate and manage chronic pain. In an unusual but groundbreaking partnership, her company leveraged the open access image program at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to develop a tool that could change how clinicians and patients understand pain, and how art institutions support public health.
“Our platform lets people visualize their pain experience,” said Derue. “You start with a digitized artwork or a blank canvas, then use simple text prompts to shape the image to reflect what your pain feels like.”
The collaboration began at a neuroscience conference in 2023, when Derue, who lives with multiple chronic pain conditions, visited the gallery and had a chance meeting with Justyna Badach, the Head of Imaging at the National Gallery of Art. The two immediately connected over personal experiences with chronic pain.