US researchers create wearable device that detects and reverses opioid overdoses

Fatal drug overdoses in the US soared to more than 93,000 last year, according to data released by the National Center for Health Statistics. — AFP

University of Washington researchers have developed a wearable device used to detect and reverse opioid overdoses, a potentially significant step in curbing a US local and national opioid epidemic that’s resulted in a record number of deaths this year.

The device, worn on the stomach like an insulin pump, senses when a person stops breathing and moving, and then injects naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Details about the device were published last week in a study in Scientific Reports.