Established as an opioid antagonist, naloxone is a type of medicine that strives to reverse the effects of drug overdose.
The administration of this medicine is critical when an opioid overdose is detected, as without prompt intervention, it can lead to permanent brain damage in just three minutes and death within four to six minutes.
Inspired by the administration of this medicine, scientists have developed an implantable device that can independently detect overdose and automatically administer naloxone.
Conventionally, it’s administered through an intranasal spray, intramuscular injection, or intravenous injection, however, all of these require a bystander to regulate the concentration of the naloxone as per the overdose.
Thus, the new device called iSOS was developed by experts associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and The Broad Institute.
Implantable device to deliver medicine autonomously
Scientists say the implantable device can independently detect overdose and automatically administer naloxone without requiring a bystander to overlook.
This could be especially beneficial during an emergency when doctors or nurses are swamped or paramedics may not make it on time to the individual who has overdosed on drugs.
iSOS implantable device automates the naloxone reaching within the patients’ system while continuously monitoring the user’s vital signs. Naloxone is autonomously administered within minutes if an overdose is detected.
In an official statement, researchers stated that iSOS is equipped with multiple sensors, allowing it to continuously monitor the user’s heart and respiratory systems and a pump that rapidly administers naloxone when needed.
The implantable device has yet to be tested on humans. However, animal testing on pigs witnessed 24 revivals out of 25 within 3.2 minutes.
Giovanni Traverso, senior author and a clinician and biomedical engineer at MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Broad Institute says:
“Having an automated robotic system that can sense and reverse opiate overdose could be transformational, particularly for high-risk populations.”
Tackling risks of opioid overdose
Traverso stated that substance use is a fundamental disorder, and individuals who have had overdoses are at higher risk of overdosing again.
In an ambition to help support this population and those at the greatest risk of overdosing, researchers strove to devise an automated way of providing early detection of those events, and “then couple that signal with the quick release of naloxone.”
The autonomous administration in iSOS was achieved by constantly monitoring the user’s vitals via the multiple sensors in the implantable device. These sensors track heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and blood oxygen levels.
The sensors are connected to a decision-making algorithm that detects signs of an overdose.
When an opioid overdose is discovered, the implantable device automatically activates a micro-pump which delivers the naloxone directly into the user’s muscle, providing rapid intervention without human involvement.
The implantable device is designed for overdoses in both prescription and illicit drugs.
Hen-Wei Huang, co-first author and roboticist from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology noted the most challenging aspects of developing an engineering solution to prevent overdose mortality.
He says addressing patient adherence and willingness to adopt new technology, minimizing false positive detections, and ensuring the rapid delivery of antidotes are among them.
“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.”
Naloxone delivered to users’ muscles directly
iSOS also features a refillable drug reservoir and an active pump that immediately releases the flow of naloxone into the users’ muscles.
Upon overdose detection, the implantable device buzzes and simultaneously issues an alert to the user’s smartphone. The technology allows the user to override the decisions for naloxone administration in case they are not actually experiencing an overdose, noted the statement.
“Though the system is designed to be a “closed loop”—meaning it both detects and delivers the drug—it also incorporates an alarm system that could alert loved ones or health care workers to the user’s side,” scientists say.
Traverso said that the implantable is just the first generation of this device, implying that there could be other models, for instance, miniaturization.
“More testing in large mammals like pigs,” is needed, “but we’re looking to begin testing in humans in the next few years,” he added. “Understanding the end-user preference and acceptability is a critical element,” says Traverso.
“Part of our future work will be to really inform the general perception and acceptability of this type of device, which will help inform some of the engineering as we continue to develop this technology.”
The study was published earlier today [August 14, 2024] in the journal – Device .
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