Justin Chan

Research Interests

As people with dementia approach the end of their lives they can experience symptoms including pain, agitation, anxiety and breathlessness. Ensuring comfort is a key underlying principle of palliative care, however, people with severe dementia may not be able to express how they feel. There is increasing interest in technologies in end-of-life care in dementia, including pain monitoring and Bispectral index (BIS) technologies. BIS was initially developed to monitor anaesthetic depth during surgery. Limited pilot work has been undertaken in palliative care patients, but this has not been tested in people with dementia. The current PhD project attempts to explore the role of technology in monitoring awareness in people with severe dementia, with a particular focus on BIS technology.

Justin is a full-time PhD student in the Division of Psychiatry, supervised by Dr Liz Sampson, Prof Paddy Stone and Dr Jonathan Huntley. The PhD commenced in October 2018 and is funded by Marie Curie: Care and Support through Terminal Illness.

Links to associated labs, centres and facilities

Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mcpcrd