Developing the next generation of non-addictive painkillers

A new way to measure pain could help break our dependence on addiction forming opioid painkilling drugs. Before a drug ever gets to a clinical trial on humans, researchers have to do extensive animal trials: but how can you prove a painkiller is working on a mouse or a rat? David Roberson of Blue Therapeutics thinks he has found an answer using a touch screen that measures an animal's paw prints to give valuable insights into how they are really feeling.