University Hospitals Earn Public Funding for Opioid Control Technology

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cleveland University Hospitals are one of the dozens of recipients of a state grant to develop technology to fight the opioid addiction epidemic in Ohio, a national commission said Wednesday.

Eric Beck and a team of university hospitals received $ 200,000 to work on a real-time opioid monitoring and tracking tool. Computer-assisted mailing would identify patients at risk for opioid dependence and abuse. It would identify opportunities for patient awareness of the use and elimination of opiates prior to release.

The University Hospitals participated in the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge competition, an idea Governor John Kasich proposed to address the problem of substance abuse in the state. The money comes from bonds guaranteed by the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.

More than 50 research groups have applied for the latest round of funding – a total of $ 8 million from a $ 20-million commitment to advance new ideas in the fight against drug and alcohol addiction. drug abuse.

Eleven other research teams were awarded scholarships, including others from northeastern Ohio.

• Ray Dalton and the relink.org team in Aurora, Portage County, have developed a website for people living with addictions to find recovery service providers, ranging from detox to housing. going through the job. The team plans to continue to develop technology, to increase the number of suppliers in the database, to increase awareness and use of the site and to study the site. Impact of relink.org.
• Abraham Joy and the Akron University team wish to help first responders quickly identify the presence of an opioid on a person or surface through a specially designed glove that would change from color in contact with an opioid. Based on the color of the glove, the first responder can then take appropriate action, thereby helping to reduce stress while performing tasks and potentially saving lives.
• Philip Payne and the Apportis team in Dublin, outside of Columbus, have created an integrated platform for patients to connect electronically to licensed health professionals and opioid addiction resources , in addition to drug-assisted therapies. The platform, also accessible in clinics, hospitals, shelters and kiosks, would reduce the distance between patients and providers to provide personalized medical support during a time of great need.
• Gordon Casey and the Brave Technology Coop team in Vancouver, Canada, are building an online platform with a mobile app, text messaging tools and portable technology for remote monitoring of people who use drugs in isolation. overdose prevention and response.
• Eric Gastfriend and the DynamiCare Health team in Boston have created a digital platform, using evidence-based psychosocial treatments to help patients with opioid addiction.
• Brian Carrico and the Innovative Health Solutions team in Versailles, Indiana, have developed a device for opioid withdrawal symptoms. It includes an electric nerve field stimulator placed behind the patient's ear to reduce the adverse effects of withdrawal symptoms.
• Trish Henrie-Barrus and the InteraSolutions team in Orem, Utah, have developed an opioid risk screening application to enable health professionals to report at-risk patients
• Robert Valuck and the Denver OpiSafe team are developing an automated patient monitoring system for opioid prescribers, which would include opioid dose alerts, pain assessment and functions, the integration of the toxicology laboratory, etc.
• John Konsin and the Prapela team in Concord, Massachusetts, are developing a device to help treat opioid-exposed newborns with postnatal withdrawal syndrome.
• Dave Gustafson and a team at the University of Wisconsin in Madison have developed a smartphone app to prevent relapse of opioid abuse. The application, which provides a suite of tools to increase patient coping capacity, recovery motivation and emotional support, is used in collaboration with the treatment agencies.
• Sandip Agarwal, Melissa O. Meara and the team at Vuronyx Technologies, Woburn, Mass., Are developing portable test cards for paper analyzers to quickly and reliably test for the presence of paper. opioids.

This is the second phase of the opioid challenge funding. During this phase, the commission was looking for technology projects to diagnose, prevent, connect and protect people against drugs.

"Advancing innovation and technology is another way to ensure nothing is left out," said David Goodman, president of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, in a statement. "As the state and the nation continue to fight this battle, we are committed to bringing new products to market and saving lives."