Laboratory-based QST is an essential tool in the study of pain and is the gold-standard for sensory phenotyping of neuropathic pain patients.  This technique is limited by test duration and the need for expensive equipment, trained personnel, and laboratory space.  To address these concerns, we developed the Boston Bedside QST Battery.  The battery employs stimuli that include sensory threshold determination and thermal and mechanical sensory perception.  Testing can be performed at the bedside, in a brief session, using inexpensive equipment with minimal personnel training. The practical approach, with the strengths and weaknesses of the QST technique in general, and its bedside variation will be discussed with emphasis on its use in neuropathic pain clinical trials as a phenotypic response predictor and as an outcome variable.