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Journals / Mühendislik Bilimleri ve Tasarım Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 14 Sayı: 2

MACHINE LEARNING-BASED OBJECTIVE ESTIMATION OF SPINAL PAIN INTENSITY ON THE VISUAL ANALOG SCALE

GÖRSEL ANALOG SKALA ÜZERİNDEKİ OMURGA AĞRISI ŞİDDETİNİN MAKİNE ÖĞRENMESİ TABANLI OBJEKTİF TAHMİNİ

Ziya Yıldız(ISPARTA UYGULAMALI BİLİMLER ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0001-6961-8202
Ferdi Başkurt(SÜLEYMAN DEMİREL ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-8997-4172
Ahmet Ali Süzen(Isparta Uygulamalı Bilimler Üniversitesi)0000-0002-5871-1652
Pages
371–385
Publication Date
2026-06-30
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings suggest that machine learning-based approaches can provide a more objective and reliable method for pain intensity assessment, helping to reduce subjective bias in clinical evaluations.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is widely used for assessing pain intensity in clinical practice; however, its subjective nature and limited scoring range may cause patient-related biases.
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Key Findings & Data:Clinical data from 174 patients with chronic spinal pain were analyzed.
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Conclusion & Impact:The findings suggest that machine learning-based approaches can provide a more objective and reliable method for pain intensity assessment, helping to reduce subjective bias in clinical evaluations.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Makine Öğrenmesi · Ağrı Şiddeti · Görsel Analog Skala

Abstract

The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is widely used for assessing pain intensity in clinical practice; however, its subjective nature and limited scoring range may cause patient-related biases. This study aims to predict the error margin in pain severity estimation using the VAS through a machine learning-based model. Clinical data from 174 patients with chronic spinal pain were analyzed. Objective parameters including spinal function index (SFI), age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) were used as inputs for model training. Five machine learning algorithms; Gradient Boosting, XGBoost, AdaBoost, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest were evaluated to estimate pain intensity at rest and during movement. The Gradient Boosting algorithm achieved the highest prediction accuracy of 83.50%, while AdaBoost showed the lowest accuracy at 67.90%. Comparison between predicted and patient-reported VAS values revealed estimation errors ranging from 16.5% to 32.1%. The findings suggest that machine learning-based approaches can provide a more objective and reliable method for pain intensity assessment, helping to reduce subjective bias in clinical evaluations.

Özet

Görsel Analog Skala (GAS), klinik uygulamalarda ağrı şiddetinin değerlendirilmesinde yaygın olarak kullanılmaktadır; ancak öznel yapısı ve sınırlı puanlama aralığı hasta kaynaklı hatalara yol açabilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, hastaların GAS kullanarak ağrı şiddetini değerlendirirken yaptıkları hata payını makine öğrenmesi tabanlı bir model ile tahmin etmektir. Araştırmada kronik omurga ağrısı bulunan 174 hastaya ait klinik veriler kullanılmıştır. Modelin eğitimi için omurga fonksiyon indeksi (OFİ), yaş, cinsiyet ve vücut kitle indeksi (VKİ) gibi objektif parametreler girdi olarak kullanılmıştır. Dinlenme ve hareket durumundaki ağrı şiddetinin tahmini amacıyla beş farklı makine öğrenmesi algoritması değerlendirilmiştir. En yüksek tahmin doğruluğu %83,50 ile Gradient Boosting algoritması ile elde edilirken, en düşük doğruluk %67,90 ile AdaBoost algoritmasıyla sağlanmıştır. Sonuçlar, hastaların GAS kullanarak ağrı şiddetini değerlendirirken %16,5 ile %32,1 arasında hata yapabildiğini göstermektedir. Önerilen yaklaşım, ağrı değerlendirmesinde daha objektif ve güvenilir bir yöntem sunmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Yıldız, Z., Başkurt, F., Süzen, A. A. (2026). MACHINE LEARNING-BASED OBJECTIVE ESTIMATION OF SPINAL PAIN INTENSITY ON THE VISUAL ANALOG SCALE. Mühendislik Bilimleri ve Tasarım Dergisi, Cilt: 14 Sayı: 2, 371–385. https://doi.org/10.21923/jesd.1885987

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