New collaboration with digital therapeutics company to investigate preventable opioid respiratory deaths

illustration of lots of syringes

A clinical trial that is collecting data on the features of opioid overdoses within the safety of a clinical setting will be integrating a monitoring platform into the research to investigate how to prevent deaths from breathing problems in opioid users.

Led by NIHR Maudsley BRC theme lead for Addictions, Professor Sir John Strang at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), the trial will use a platform developed by  digital therapeutics company PneumoWave (formerly known as Altair Medical).

PneumoWave’s respiratory monitoring platform will collect breathing data from patients at risk of experiencing slow and shallow breathing – respiratory depression - as a side effect of use of heroin or other opioid medication. Without treatment, respiratory depression can cause life threatening complications, contributing directly to the annual toll of 150,000 opioid overdose deaths globally. It is hoped that findings from the trial will lead to the development of life-saving interventions to prevent drug related deaths – now the largest cause of accidental death in most developed countries.

Building on extensive previous research undertaken by the team at King’s IoPPN, the trial is taking place in the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-Wellcome King’s Clinical Research Facility which is supported by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). It is expected to be the first trial in an ongoing collaboration between PneumoWave and King’s IoPPN during the development and validation of PneumoWave’s core technologies. This trial is part of a national program of clinical research as the company develops digital health and therapeutic solutions for a range of respiratory conditions.

Professor Sir John Strang, head of Addictions at King’s IoPPN  and theme lead for Substance Use at the NIHR Maudsley BRC, said: “Working together with my team, I am very excited about this new collaboration and its potential to apply science to make the world a safer place for one of our most vulnerable groups. With drug-related deaths at an all-time high in the UK and globally, we need to develop better ways to reduce this loss of life. It is essential that we drive new scientific studies and develop new technologies that have real potential to save lives.” 

Dr Bruce Henderson, founder and CEO of PneumoWave, commented: “The technology behind PneumoWave was specifically developed to reduce deaths from respiratory conditions. The research facilities at King’s College London, and their highly skilled team, make it one of the few places in the world where the data we require can be safely captured.” 

Professor Peter Goadsby, Director of the NIHR/Wellcome Clinical Research Facility said: “Professor Sir John Strang is a pioneer in the development of therapeutic approaches for protecting a very vulnerable group. We are pleased in the Clinical Research Facility to have a role in the development of this cutting-edge approach to a life-threatening problem.”


Tags: research stories - Substance use and harms - Pain and Addictions - Digital Therapies -

By NIHR Maudsley BRC at 20 Jan 2022, 09:34 AM


Back to Blog List