Deep Learning-Based Grimace Scoring Is Comparable to Human Scoring in a Mouse Migraine Model

Chih Yi Chiang, Yueh Peng Chen, Hung Ruei Tzeng, Man Hsin Chang, Lih Chu Chiou*, Yu-Cheng Pei*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pain assessment is essential for preclinical and clinical studies on pain. The mouse grimace scale (MGS), consisting of five grimace action units, is a reliable measurement of spontaneous pain in mice. However, MGS scoring is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Deep learning can be applied for the automatic assessment of spontaneous pain. We developed a deep learning model, the DeepMGS, that automatically crops mouse face images, predicts action unit scores and total scores on the MGS, and finally infers whether pain exists. We then compared the performance of DeepMGS with that of experienced and apprentice human scorers. The DeepMGS achieved an accuracy of 70–90% in identifying the five action units of the MGS, and its performance (correlation coefficient = 0.83) highly correlated with that of an experienced human scorer in total MGS scores. In classifying pain and no pain conditions, the DeepMGS is comparable to the experienced human scorer and superior to the apprentice human scorers. Heatmaps generated by gradient-weighted class activation mapping indicate that the DeepMGS accurately focuses on MGS-relevant areas in mouse face images. These findings support that the DeepMGS can be applied for quantifying spontaneous pain in mice, implying its potential application for predicting other painful conditions from facial images.

Original languageEnglish
Article number851
JournalJournal of Personalized Medicine
Volume12
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 06 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • deep machine learning
  • facial expression
  • migraine animal model
  • mouse grimace scale
  • spontaneous pain

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