Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Spine Research, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosignal Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 882

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Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Taegu, Republic of Korea
Interests: rehabilitation; imaging; neurological disorders; musculoskeletal disorders
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pain affects many people, leading to significant suffering, reduced physical function, and a diminished quality of life. Many individuals with chronic pain also experience psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. As a result, pain management has become one of the major fields in modern medicine. Active research is being conducted to more accurately identify the causes of pain and improve diagnostic efficiency. These efforts are leading to significant advancements in alleviating pain, thereby enhancing patients’ functional abilities and overall quality of life.

Research aimed at achieving more effective pain management continues to progress rapidly. Recently, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened up new possibilities in the diagnosis and treatment of pain. Large volumes of medical data are being analyzed by AI technologies to identify patterns of pain and suggest personalized treatment strategies. For instance, machine learning algorithms can integrate and analyze data from imaging studies, physiological signal measurements, and questionnaires to better pinpoint the underlying causes of pain and predict clinical outcomes. Additionally, natural language processing is being explored as a means to convert subjective pain reports into objective data. These technological advancements are promoting innovation in various aspects of pain medicine, helping to provide personalized treatment, improved predictive accuracy, and clinical decision support.

It is anticipated that the role of AI in the field of pain medicine will continue to expand in the coming years. This Special Issue aims to highlight recent research on the application of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of pain. We invite contributions that explore the integration of clinical data, the development of predictive models, personalized therapeutic approaches, and the convergence of AI with digital healthcare. Through this Special Issue, we hope to provide insight into how the fusion of pain medicine and AI can lead to more patient-centered care and suggest future directions for research in this evolving field.

Dr. Min Cheol Chang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • pain
  • research
  • artificial intelligence
  • deep learning
  • machine learning

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 2088 KB  
Article
Machine Learning Prediction of Therapeutic Outcome After Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection for Radiculopathy from Herniated Lumbar Disc
by Jeoung Kun Kim and Min Cheol Chang
Bioengineering 2026, 13(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering13010018 - 25 Dec 2025
Viewed by 552
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is widely used to treat lumbosacral radicular pain caused by a herniated lumbar disc (HLD). However, therapeutic response varies substantially, and reliable outcome prediction remains challenging because of the multifactorial interplay of clinical and morphological factors. Machine [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is widely used to treat lumbosacral radicular pain caused by a herniated lumbar disc (HLD). However, therapeutic response varies substantially, and reliable outcome prediction remains challenging because of the multifactorial interplay of clinical and morphological factors. Machine learning (ML) approaches may address this limitation by modeling nonlinear interactions among patient-specific variables. Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 242 patients with HLD-related radiculopathy who underwent single-level lumbar TFESI. Eight variables—age, sex, injection side, injection level, pain duration, pretreatment numeric rating scale (NRS) score, HLD location, and HLD subtype—were used as input features. Therapeutic outcome was defined as a ≥50% reduction in NRS score at 1 month after TFESI. Three predictive models, namely deep neural network (DNN), random forest (RF), and XGBoost, were developed and evaluated using a validation cohort of 49 patients. Results: The DNN model demonstrated the best validation performance, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.821 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.690–0.929). The performance of the RF (AUC, 0.711; 95% CI, 0.535–0.865) and XGBoost (AUC, 0.674; 95% CI, 0.498–0.831) models was inferior to that of the DNN. In addition, the DNN produced fewer false-positive predictions and showed more robust discrimination between favorable and poor outcomes than the other ML models. Conclusions: A deep learning–based predictive model demonstrated superior performance in predicting therapeutic outcomes after lumbar TFESI in patients with HLD-related radiculopathy. Integration of routine clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived features into ML algorithms may enhance individualized prognostication and assist clinicians in optimizing patient selection for interventional procedures. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to develop an ML-based model integrating routine clinical variables with MRI findings for the prediction of TFESI outcomes in HLD-related radiculopathy. Nevertheless, the study is limited by its single-center retrospective design, lack of external validation, and reliance on MRI assessments performed by a single rater. Future multicenter studies are warranted to improve generalizability and confirm clinical utility. Full article
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