What if opioid addicts could be taught to reduce their cravings for drugs by regaining control of their brains?
Perhaps they can.
Kelly Cashion, a software engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute, has an idea to combat Ohio’s opioid crisis by using neurofeedback therapy to help addicts overcome their intense cravings for drugs and push through difficult symptoms of withdrawal.
State leaders are listening. Cashion’s proposal was among five winners announced Tuesday in the first phase of the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge for developing ideas aimed at treating pain without medication, or treating and preventing drug overdoses.
Each will get $10,000 and become eligible for hundreds of thousands more to develop their ideas as state officials look to technology and innovation to help tackle Ohio’s growing drug crisis that claimed more than 4,300 lives in 2016.
"Ohio put out the call for new ideas, and people from across the world responded," said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency and chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.
"This issue affects countless individuals, families and communities, so we’re thrilled by the level of response and excited to move these ideas forward and save lives."
Other winners include an addiction assessment app to identify patients with risk factors for abuse and an augmented reality-based coaching system that helps patients rehabilitate with little or no pain medications.
Cashion’s neurofeedback therapy seeks to rewire the brain to reduce pain and cravings for opioids.
"When a person initially consumes opioids, the experience creates a sense of euphoria caused by a release of chemicals in the brain. The pathways in the brain that are part of that experience grow stronger — forging an addiction — while other pathways grow weaker," she said. "Over time, use of the drugs stops creating positive feelings, and their absence creates painful symptoms of withdrawal, so that a person with an addiction needs to use the drugs just to achieve a sense of normalcy."
Neurofeedback uses sensors to monitor brainwavs, like an electroencephalography (EEG), to help the wearer see his or her brain’s electrical activity in real time. The sensors, typically a wireless headset attached to the scalp, also allow the wearer see if certain behaviors alter their brain’s electrical activity.
Cashion will show volunteers a graphics display or simple video game on a computer screen. By giving the volunteers tasks that require a shift in focus or other interaction with the game, they will see which activities most impact the signals associated with cravings. After a series of training sessions, volunteers will have learned the tasks they will need to perform to reduce cravings, even without use of the technology.
Neurofeedback has shown promise in treating nicotine addiction, depression, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress syndrome and other physiological disorders.
Another winner, Cincinnati-based Kinametechs LLC, is developing an augmented reality-based interactive coaching system to help patients recover from surgeries or injuries by customizing their physical therapy and other doctor orders, reducing the need for pain medication and potential for addiction.
"Our idea is to coach patients through recovery and prevent them from using pain medications in the first place," said Dr. David Martineau, an orthopedic hand surgeon and Kinametics co-founder.
"There is no limit to what we think we can accomplish with this. It’s simple and patients can be entertained by it."
For instance, a patient would wear glasses projecting holograms, or three-dimensional images, to provide them with instruction.
"This technology can better empower patients and take what happens in doctors’ office, home to help people rehabilitate," said Yong Pei, a computer science professor at Wright State University and Kinametechs co-founder.
Other winners were:
- Judson Brewer, of Worcester, Mass., for a mindfulness-based therapy adapted for opioid addiction.
- InteraSolutions, of Oren, Utah, for an opioid risk assessment screening app to identify patients with risk factors for opioid abuse.
- The Edification Project, of Boston, for a virtual reality technology focused on preventing addiction in teens and young adults.