At the size of a USB drive, an implantable device created by Northwestern researchers can detect an opioid overdose, automatically alert first responders and administer a life-saving dose of naloxone — an emergency opioid overdose antidote.

The developers of the device — McCormick Prof. John Rogers and a team of researchers at Northwestern and Washington University in St. Louis — say the device can be a powerful way to address some consequences of the opioid epidemic.

From 1999 to 2017, more than 399,000 people died from an overdose of prescription or illicit opioids, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

The completion of the device comes months after the team received a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in October 2019. However, to Rogers, the project was important enough that the actual development process predated the NIH grant.

“We have a strong belief that it’s feasible from an engineering standpoint, and we were just going to do it anyway,” Rogers said. “We really started working in earnest on the project long before the funding was actually triggered.”

The device works by detecting a low oxygenation level once implanted, which indicates low amounts of diffused oxygen in blood. If this level exceeds a certain threshold, it triggers the release of naloxone doses from the device’s platform. The antidote then works by binding to receptors in the brain in the place of the opioid, preventing the brain from flooding with dopamine. This temporarily counteracts the overdose.

Administering naloxone — which is highly effective and relatively accessible — has saved thousands of lives. The problem, Rogers said, is that many who overdose are alone. If a person with a history of substance use disorder chooses to have the device surgically implanted, they could still receive the life-saving drug even if they are alone and unconscious.

Abraham Vazquez-Guardado, a postdoctoral scholar who joined the collaboration in January 2019, worked on designing the electronic system and the implementation of wireless communication. He said the innovation mimicked the process of a pacemaker by using a closed-loop system.

In addition to the scientific innovation involved in the development, Vazquez-Guardado said the device fills a niche that has not been properly addressed in previous overdose prevention methods.

“In most of the cases, (it) is not an intentional overdose, so those are mostly accidental overdoses,” Vazquez-Guardado said. “Especially (in) patients that are going (through rehabilitation).”

Because overdoses are often unexpected, Vazquez-Guardado added the new device would be a very effective form of intervention. Still, there is more work to be done, researchers said.

Joanna Ciatti, a Ph.D. student who studies materials science and engineering, assembled materials and tested components of the device. She said the development of the device required integrating multiple technologies that have been made for other purposes, which can then translate to applications of the device’s technology in other contexts.

“That we’re developing (the device) on such an aggressive timeline is very important not just for drug overdoses where it could treat a small population,” Ciatti said. “But it can be translated across many different medical conditions.”

Going forward, Ciatti added, the team will work on streamlining the pump system so the dose is released faster.

In the next three months, the device will move on to animal testing. In a couple of years, Rogers said the product should be able to begin testing on humans, before it becomes commercially available. In the meantime, the interdisciplinary team will work with Kellogg School of Management students to approach issues regarding insurance companies, pricing and FDA reviews.

Still, entrepreneurial and commercial aspects of the product are undecided. While specific pricing and business model of the product are “a work in progress,” Rogers added that the device will reach beyond “the ivory tower.”

“We like to think beyond just the scientific journals to real technologies that have real impact and potential to change lives,” Rogers said. “So that’s an important part of it. And I think that is that kind of worldview really strongly resonates with the students as well.”

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