American university makes wearable to recognize drug overdosed

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States have developed a wearable that warns the wearer of a possible overdose of opioids, painkillers that can lead to addiction. After warning, the user can take an antidote.

The so-called HopeBand looks like a typical smartwatch, but is intended to detect an overdose in opioid users, the scientists explain in an article on IEEE Spectrum. The HopeBand measures the oxygen level in the blood via pulse oximetry, a common method for measuring blood saturation in a non-invasive way. The method works by shining pulses of light on the skin, whereby the extent of absorption by the blood in the underlying vessels is an indication of the oxygen content.

One of the properties of an opioid overdose is the slowing of breathing, which reduces the absorption of oxygen in the blood. The smart bracelet constantly measures the oxygen level and the degree of saturation, or saturation, in the blood, and sounds an alarm if it falls below a critical value. After a low oxygen saturation has been measured for ten seconds, the bracelet turns on. That should give the wearer enough time to take an antidote; in many cases, Naloxone is used, which counteracts the action of opioids.

It is also possible to have someone alerted via a message sent to the phone of a preset recipient, so that help can be called. In that message, the location of the bracelet wearer is also passed on.

For now, the researchers have only tested their HopeBand in the lab, because there has not yet been an opportunity to test it ‘in real life’. However, the test results so far look promising, the scientists said.

In the United States, a large number of people are addicted to opioids. In many cases they have become addicted after a doctor prescribed it as a medication; Opioids are widely used for pain relief, but they are also highly addictive. Morphine and fentanyl are examples of drugs that fall within the opioid family.