As an emergency doctor for over 15 years within the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Desislava Hite steadily encountered drug overdoses. And in keeping with Hite, what’s essential to grasp about overdose is that it’s very reversible — if the affected person makes it to the emergency room in time.
“You’ll be able to reposition the affected person, give oxygen, give medicines like Naloxone, you possibly can actually stop issues like coronary heart assaults, mind harm, and finally dying,” Hite stated in an interview. “However oftentimes, we might see folks are available and they’re just a bit too late, so it’s been minutes, typically hours earlier than they had been discovered, and they also find yourself within the ICU. Some have everlasting mind harm, and naturally, many don’t even make it to us.”
Hite and her husband Michael Hite wished to construct one thing to stop these deaths and issues. So in 2019, they based Ayuda Medical, which presents a wearable machine that may detect an overdose and name for assist. The corporate has since been backed by the Nationwide Institutes of Well being and the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse and is looking for to safe FDA approval. And its companies may very well be life-saving because the U.S. battles a serious overdose disaster. The CDC estimates that in 2023, greater than 107,000 overdose deaths occurred.
Ayuda Medical’s wearable machine is known as ARMband. It’s worn on the higher arm to be discreet and screens for lack of movement, adjustments in respiratory patterns and drops in oxygen ranges. If it detects that the consumer is unresponsive and has overdosed, then it prompts an alarm and pronounces, “That is an overdose. Get assist, give Naloxone now.” That is speculated to alert folks close by who could possibly assist. An accompanying app additionally gives alerts to Emergency Medical Companies, overdose response groups or a community of group responders. As well as, it may possibly ship alerts to preselected contacts.
To assist construct the machine, the corporate is counting on folks with lived expertise of substance use issues. It’s working with folks in several areas as completely different locations have completely different wants. For instance, folks in Alaska need to bundle up extra due to the colder climate, so Ayuda Medical is making an attempt to grasp how further layers might have an effect on the machine.
However there are some similarities between completely different communities, Hite famous.
“One of many issues that we realized is that the machine may be very a lot wanted and wished,” she stated. “One of many feedback we heard is, ‘Whatever the selections we make in life, we’re not suicidal,’ and so this device could be of serious profit.”
The corporate has obtained assist from the NIH and NIDA (which is a part of the NIH) by way of the Small Enterprise Innovation Analysis (SBIR) program. By way of the SBIR program, firms can stand up to $2.8 million to construct applied sciences that may impact substance use issues, in keeping with the web site. This funding helps Ayuda Medical conduct scientific research with a purpose to safe clearance from the Meals and Drug Administration.
As soon as it will get clearance from the FDA, the corporate hopes to obtain reimbursement from Medicaid for its machine. It additionally plans on providing it by way of money pay.
Along with the SBIR grant, Ayuda Medical was chosen for NIH’s firm showcase, through which firms are matched to a sure occasion and obtain paid registration and a chance to community with traders and strategic companions. In Ayuda Medical’s case, it was matched with the HLTH convention that was held in Las Vegas in October.
A number of different firms are addressing substance use dysfunction within the U.S., together with digital well being firms Bicycle Well being, Pelago and Boulder Care. In the case of overdose particularly, there are only a few firms that exist, nevertheless, in keeping with Hite.
Wanting forward, Ayuda Medical goals to safe further funding, together with from enterprise capital companies. In the long run, Ayuda Medical hopes to successfully transfer the needle on drug overdoses.
“Our final objective is to have a look at that graph of the rising opioid overdoses and see it begin to go down,” Hite stated. “I’ve already seen it plateau a minimum of, with a powerful effort of naloxone distribution, hurt discount, simply basic training you could get on-line. So I’m beginning to see that change [but] I do assume there’s nonetheless a necessity for extra.”
Picture: Dr. Desislava Hite