New York, November 23rd : .Researchers created a wearable device to detect and reverse opioid overdoses. A University of Washington team developed the device that detects when someone stops breathing or moves and can inject naloxone to restore their respiration.
Justin Chan (a UW doctoral candidate at the Paul G.Allen School for Computer Science and Engineering), said that the opioid epidemic had grown worse since the pandemic and continues to pose a serious public health problem.
Chan said that algorithms were created to automatically inject Naloxone into the skin when the wearer stops breath.Chan’s paper was published in Scientific Reports.
Researchers found that opioid overdoses are unique because naloxone, a benign medication, is extremely effective and can save lives when administered promptly.
UW collaborated with West Pharmaceutical Services in Pennsylvania to develop a prototype that can safely inject medications.
Researchers combined the injector system and sensors to create an algorithm that detects life-threatening patterns of respirations in people who have experienced opioid poisoning.
This device can also be used to help those with opioid addiction at various stages in order to prevent accidental death.
A clinical trial was done to test the device with 25 people in an supervised injection center.
These sensors could accurately monitor the respiration rate of people suffering from opioid-use disorder.Non-medical opioid-induced apnoea was detected by the device.
This is a common breathing pattern which can lead to a fatal overdose.
In a hospital setting, a clinical trial was conducted with 20 patients who showed signs of apnoea such as holding their breath.
The wearable device detected that the participant had stopped breathing for more than 15 seconds and activated to inject naloxone.
After the device was activated, blood samples were taken from the participants to confirm that the system delivered the antidote in the circulatory system.
This indicates its ability to reverse opioid overdoses.
These devices will soon be widely accessible, but approval from the US Food and Drug Administration would be required.
FDA has published special guidance regarding emergency-use injectors and is working hard to speed up efforts to resolve this important public health issue.
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