Wearable Oximetry System for Opioid Overdose Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods fail to promptly and effectively detect opioid overdoses, leading to potential irreversible harm or death due to delayed emergency response, especially in cases where individuals are left alone and unconscious.

Innovation Solution

A wearable system combining a sensor, signal processor, and mobile computing device that monitors physiological parameters such as oxygen saturation, heart rate, and respiration rate, and automatically alerts responders and delivers therapeutic drugs when an overdose is detected, using a drug delivery apparatus and notification system to ensure timely intervention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If oximetry is used to detect depressed breathing, then oxygen saturation can be monitored, but delayed detection occurs when individuals are left alone and unconscious

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoverdose detection accuracyVSAvoidemergency response time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors oxygen saturation levels and provides real-time feedback through automated alerts to emergency contacts when threshold values are exceeded, enabling immediate response without human intervention or delay

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The monitoring system operates autonomously by automatically detecting opioid overdose conditions through oximetry, triggering alerts, and notifying emergency contacts without requiring manual checking or human presence, thus eliminating detection delays

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If manual monitoring of physiological parameters is performed, then overdose can be detected, but response is delayed due to human intervention requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoverdose detection capabilityVSAvoiddetection speed

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical monitoring with an automated electronic oximetry system that continuously measures oxygen saturation and automatically detects overdose conditions, eliminating human response delays and enabling immediate detection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an automated alert mechanism as an intermediary between oxygen saturation measurement and emergency response, automatically triggering notifications when threshold values are exceeded, thus bridging the detection-response gap without human intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The system enables early detection of opioid overdoses, facilitating immediate emergency response and potential life-saving interventions by automatically alerting contacts and administering therapeutic drugs, thereby reducing the risk of permanent damage or death.

Implementation Method 1

the sensor has light emitting diodes (LEDs) that transmit optical radiation into a tissue site and a detector that responds to the intensity of the optical radiation after absorption (e.g., by transmission or transflectance) by, for example, pulsatile arterial blood flowing within the tissue site

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectOptical absorption: Absorption (EM radiation)

Implementation Method 2

a detector that responds to the intensity of the optical radiation after absorption (e.g., by transmission or transflectance) by, for example, pulsatile arterial blood flowing within the tissue site. Based on this response, a processor can determine measurements for peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), which is an estimate of the percentage of oxygen bound to hemoglobin in the blood, pulse rate, plethysmograph waveforms, which indicate changes in the volume of arterial blood with each pulse beat

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPhotoplethysmography: Absorption (EM radiation)

Data Source

PatentUS20230138098A1Opioid overdose detection using pattern recognition

Publication Date: 2023.05.04 MASIMO CORP

AI summary

A system for generating an overdose risk score of a user includes a physiological sensor coupled to a wearable device and configured to detect attenuated light from a tissue site of the user and at least one hardware processor. The hardware processor can be configured to determine a plurality of parameters based on the attenuated light, determine a baseline risk, an instability index, an average slope, and desaturation pressure, and determine a weighted aggregate of the baseline risk, the instability index, the average slope, and the desaturation pressure for each of the plurality of parameters, determine an overdose risk score by determining a weighted aggregate of the plurality of parameters, determine an alarm level of a series of escalating alarm levels based on the overdose risk score, and implement intervention associated with the determined alarm level.