Psychologists are studying the use of sensor-based devices to help treat people with substance abuse problems.The same sensor technology used to track performance of elite
athletes and monitor vital signs during childbirth is taking a turn as a
tool for fighting drug abuse.
At the American Telemedicine Association conference this week, a psychologist at the Baylor College of Medicine described how he’s using the Zephyr BioHarness wireless vital signals monitor to track cardiovascular and respiratory changes in cocaine users, according to Mobihealth News.
Developed for the military, first responders and athletes, the
BioHarness is a chest strap with a battery-powered sensor that monitors a
person’s heart rate, breathing rate and other vital signs.
At Baylor, Dr. Jin Ho Yoon is reportedly leading an NIH-funded trial
using the BioHarness to see how well it can measure changes in heart and
lung function when people are exposed to cocaine. According to
Mobihealth, as part of the trial, volunteers who had been addicted to
cocaine were administered low-dosage intravenous cocaine in hospital
beds, while a control group received saline solution. Among those
exposed to the drug, the monitor detected sharp increases in heart rates
and breathing rates.
That the device detected an increase in those indicators isn’t as
significant as the finding that the monitor could generate more data and
at a lower price than typical hospital monitors – and that it could
work remotely to monitor people recently discharged from care facilities
to make sure that they don’t relapse into abuse. (Although Mobihealth
suggests that the battery life would need to be extended for effective
remote monitoring.)
Cocaine abuse represents just a small percentage of all illicit drug
use, but it leads to more than 40 percent of emergency visits related to
overdoses from street drugs, Dr. Yoon reportedly told the
conference. And, he plans to continue studies with the BioHarness to
determine whether it has applications for helping people to quit smoking
and fight obesity.
As we’ve reported previously, sensor technology is a hot area in digital health these days, with companies receiving funding for devices that track everything from sleep disorders to head impacts to medication adherence.
When it comes to using sensors to detect and treat substance abuse,
the BioHarness isn’t the only device psychologists are studying. The iHeal,
developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical
School, is a wristband that detects changes in the electrical activity
of the skin, body motion, skin reports,
it communicates with a smartphone app that prompts users to provide
information about potential triggers when the sensor detects a certain
stress level and provides timely personalized drug prevention
interventions.
temperature and heart rate to determine
when the user might be on the verge of risky behavior like substance
abuse. According to reports,
it communicates with a smartphone app that prompts users to provide
information about potential triggers when the sensor detects a certain
stress level and provides timely personalized drug prevention
interventions.
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