Wearable device a potential lifesaver for opioid overdoses: study
The device, which is worn on the stomach, similar to an insulin pump, can detect when a person is experiencing an overdose and administer naloxone to reverse the event. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist and is considered very effective. It works by blocking the effects of an opioid, quickly restoring a person’s breathing back to normal.
“We have created algorithms that run on a wearable injector to detect when the wearer stops breathing and automatically inject naloxone,” said lead author and University of Washington (UW) doctoral student Justin Chan.
Image: A woman carries a naloxone kit and a bag from Insite, the safe injection site, while walking in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday July 27, 2016. Naloxone is used to reverse the effects of overdoses in drug users who have taken opioids. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
