Story at a glance
- A new device that works like an insulin pump can detect when a person is experiencing an opioid overdose.
- Researchers equipped the wearable injector with sensors and developed an algorithm capable of detecting breathing changes.
- The device is triggered to release naloxone, a drug used to reverse drug overdoses, when it detects “prolonged apneic events.”
Researchers from the University of Washington have developed a device they hope can someday help reduce the number of drug overdoses across the country.
A study published Monday in Scientific Reports details how a prototype device worn like an insulin pump can detect when a person is experiencing an opioid overdose and administer naloxone, a drug used to reverse narcotic overdoses, for treatment.
Researchers equipped the wearable injector with sensors and developed an algorithm capable of detecting breathing changes that occur before a potentially fatal opioid overdose. The device is triggered to release naloxone when it detects “prolonged apneic events.”
The pump is also capable of transmitting breathing rates and apneic motion data to a smartphone through Bluetooth.
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“This wearable auto-injector may have the potential to reduce fatalities due to opioid overdoses,” Shyam Gollakota, a professor at the University of Washington’s Allen School and co-author of the study, said in a statement.
“We are hopeful it can have a tangible impact on a big source of suffering in this country,” Shyam said.
Scientists behind the study want to make the wearable devices widely available, but say more research is needed to assess “the comfort and discreteness of the device over longer time periods, particularly in unsupervised settings.” The potentially life-saving pump also needs to be assessed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The study comes as annual overdose deaths in the U.S. topped 100,000 for the first time this year, with opioids accounting for nearly 75,000 deaths and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, killing 64,000 Americans.
The figure, a record high is a nearly 29 percent increase over the year prior, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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