From a research done at the Universty of Washington, an application on smartphones can turn the phone in to a short-range active sonar system to identify acute opioid toxicity. The application would be looking for respiratory depression, apnea, and gross motor movements.
Why this is important – Currently there is not a mobile system that can detect the symptoms of opioid overdose in real time. Currently, to identify opioid overdose, we have to rely on medical-grade equipment or trained recognition of diagnostic signs.
Why this is challenging – For this application to work, it will need access to patients and data while high-risk opiod use occurs. That can present a life threatening situation.
How to overcome it – They will test patients in two unique environments where it is heavily supervised.
The system uses a frequency-modulated continuous waveform (FMCW) and uses the smartphone’s speaker and microphone to turn it into a short-range active sonar system. The system then runs algorithms that detects frequency shifts.
In opioid-induced central apnea, the system identified 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity. In respiratory depression, the system identified 87% sensitivity and 89% specificity. These were two key events that commonly precede opioid overdose. The algorithm identified 19 of 20 simulated overdose events.
I think that this new application can be a low end market disruptive innovator. There will be no need for medical grade equipment or someone with trained recognition present. Going beyond just opioid overdoes, I think this can open doors to other health related issues. In a controlled testing environment, I think that there are endless possibilities as to what health related issues can be identified using your smartphone.
Study can be found here
The issues of opioid overdoses within the United States is an issue that needs an immediate solution. I like the creativity of this solution using microphones and speakers built into an existing device to detect sonar waves. A major concern would be HIPPA violations, which almost seem impossible to get by. Another concern would be if the microphone and speaker would be on constantly? If that was so, this can turn away people due to sheer nature of privacy and unfamiliarity. I wonder if this can be used in hospital settings sometime in the future to make the process of customer interaction more efficient.
I think this product is an excellent idea. It definitely falls into the low end market disruption based upon Christensens theory. He says that for something to be disruptive it must make what was complicated and expensive more affordable and simplistic. This is meeting both of those needs by using a mobile phone which is widely available to do the job of a piece of specialized equipment. Again like mention in the previous comment if HIPPA is of any concern when dealing in the medical realm. I think this could be very useful to those living in areas with high opioid use and it could probably save countless lives. I hope they continue development and are able to bring this to the masses.
I find it fascinating how with every new development of phone technology we seem to find ways to use it to enter markets and revolutionize industries that we would have never expected. The iPhone helping with opioid addiction feeds into that phenomenon. I am excited to see how this will flesh out and how it will lead to more applications of this type of technology. I also agree that it would be a low-end market disruptor, and I am optimistic about the research done with this application