An implanted device automatically administers naloxone, sold in the U.S. as Narcan, to counteract the effects of opioid overdoses. It has worked well in animals, reviving 24 out of 25 overdosed pigs within 3.2 minutes, though no human testing has yet been done.
Naloxone is an effective treatment for opioid overdose, but it usually requires a bystander to step in and administer it because the person with the overdose is likely to lose consciousness. The implant continuously monitors the users respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature, and blood oxygen saturation and uses this data in an algorithm to determine if an overdose is occurring. Going forward, the researchers plan to continue to optimise and miniaturise the device, which currently measures 8mm x 12mm x 78mm.
"The most challenging aspects of developing an engineering solution to prevent overdose mortality are addressing patient adherence and willingness to adopt new technology, minimizing false positive detections, and ensuring the rapid delivery of antidotes," co-first author and roboticist Hen-Wei Huang of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology is quoted in a press release. "Our proposed solution tackles these unmet needs by developing a miniaturized robotic implant equipped with multi-sensing modalities, continuous monitoring capabilities, on-board decision-making, and an innovative micro-pumping mechanism."
I wonder if this would work with epinephrine, for those suffering serious allergies.
Previously:
• Narcan goes OTC
• OD-reversing nasal spray Narcan to be available over the counter
