Hypoxia driven opioid targeted automated device for overdose rescue.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Opioid use disorder is a critical epidemic, causing over 100,000 deaths in 2021.
• Current opioid overdose antidotes require timely administration, which is often impossible due to overdose severity or unwitnessed events.
• A non-invasive, automated system for detecting, reporting, and treating opioid overdoses is urgently needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop a wearable, on-demand system for automatic detection and treatment of opioid overdoses.
• To address the limitations of current antidote administration by creating a device that operates without human intervention.
• To provide a means for early detection and intervention to reduce mortality from opioid overdoses.

Main Methods:

• A compact, wearable device utilizing a microcontroller and reflex pulse oximetry to monitor respiratory status.
• Incorporation of a novel needle-stow chamber for sterile, on-demand subcutaneous delivery of the opioid antidote nalmefene.
• Automatic initiation of antidote delivery and transmission of a GPS-trackable 911 alert when oxygen saturation drops to ≤90%.

Main Results:

• The developed system is a wearable, non-invasive device (4x3x3 cm) that adheres to the skin.
• It continuously monitors respiratory status and automatically administers nalmefene and sends a 911 alert upon detecting critical oxygen saturation levels.
• The device enables remote monitoring and intervention capabilities for large-scale application.

Conclusions:

• This wearable device offers a potential solution to reduce deaths from the opioid overdose epidemic.
• Automatic, on-demand detection and treatment of opioid overdoses can overcome critical time windows and human intervention barriers.
• The system's design facilitates early intervention and has the potential to save numerous lives.