ACON: "SPECTROSCOPY SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING PAINFUL AND NON-PAINFUL INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS".
Heck, rather than all of THAT techno-complexity, why doesn't the Doctor or Nurse simple ASK the patient!!! To wit, "Is your lower back PAINFUL, or NOT PAINFUL?"
"Now Homer, is your fucked-up spine PAINFUL, or NOT PAINFUL?? Now our newly-Patented newfangled MR gadget here can itself DETECT that, but I would like to hear it from YOU, Dude. So we can be ABSOLUTELY certain that you are in fact suffering PAIN."