A University of Massachusetts researcher is part of a team that just won a more than $1 million grant to develop a smart watch sensor designed to support the treatment of opioid addiction.
Computer science assistant professor Tauhidur Rahman, a mobile sensor expert, received the $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Smart and Connected Health program along with colleagues at Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Their sensor uses machine learning to determine if “psychophysiological signs detected in real time by respiration and electrocardiogram (ECG) are consistent with opioid cravings,” according to a news release from UMass.
“We have the technology to detect these craving moments and incorporate an intervention to avoid scenarios of drug use,“ Rahman said in a statement. “Nothing like this exists today, and we believe that mobile technologies can provide an effective mechanism for people with addiction to monitor their condition and manage their cravings better.”
The project grew out of research published in 2019 on the use of cardiac and respiratory signals to sense cocaine craving, euphoria and drug-seeking behavior.
The researchers published another paper on their current project in September, which involved monitoring 36 hospitalized patients who received opioid medication for acute pain as part of their care, wearing wrist sensors.
“Just by looking at a watch and monitoring a few parameters, we can tell when someone has taken an opioid,” Rahman said.
The group says their research can be expanded to include other substance use disorders, and that the sensor they’re working on could also be used to ensure the proper use of prescribed opioid pain medications. Doctors could ask their patients to wear the smartwatch and the system could track how frequently the patients are using the drug and whether they’re developing a dependence.
