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http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s13181-016-0557-5&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s13181-016-0557-5&domain=pdf
Web End = J. Med. Toxicol. (2016) 12:255262 DOI 10.1007/s13181-016-0557-5
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Wearable Biosensors to Detect Physiologic Change During Opioid Use
Stephanie Carreiro1 & Kelley Wittbold1 & Premananda Indic2 & Hua Fang3 &
Jianying Zhang3 & Edward W. Boyer1
Received: 20 January 2016 /Revised: 10 May 2016 /Accepted: 14 May 2016 /Published online: 22 June 2016 # American College of Medical Toxicology 2016
AbstractIntroduction Opioid analgesic use is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the US, yet effective treatment programs have a limited ability to detect relapse. The utility of current drug detection methods is often restricted due to their retrospective and subjective nature. Wearable biosensors have the potential to improve detection of relapse by providing objective, real time physiologic data on opioid use that can be used by treating clinicians to augment behavioral interventions. Methods Thirty emergency department (ED) patients who were prescribed intravenous opioid medication for acute pain were recruited to wear a wristband biosensor. The biosensor measured electrodermal activity, skin temperature and locomotion data, which was recorded before and after intravenous opioid administration. Hilbert transform analyses combined with paired t-tests were used to compare the biosensor dataA) within subjects, before and after administration of opioids;B) between subjects, based on hand dominance, gender, and opioid use history.
Results Within subjects, a significant decrease in locomotion and increase in skin temperature were consistently detected by
the biosensors after opioid administration. A significant change in electrodermal activity was not consistently detected. Between subjects, biometric changes varied with level of opioid use history (heavy vs. nonheavy users), but did not vary with gender or type of opioid. Specifically, heavy users demonstrated a greater decrease in short amplitude movements(i.e. fidgeting movements) compared to non-heavy users. Conclusion A wearable biosensor showed a consistent physiologic pattern after ED opioid administration and differences between patterns of heavy and non-heavy opioid users were noted. Potential applications of biosensors to drug addiction treatment and pain management should be studied further.
Keywords Wearables . Opioids . Biosensors . Biometrics . Signal Processing
Introduction
Opioid overdose is a leading cause of accidental death in the USA, with death rates rising steadily over the last 20 years [1]. Of the over 22,000 deaths relating to pharmaceutical overdose...