“Research shows the growing risk of toxic opioid exposure for first responders and medical professionals. First responders arriving at the scene of a suspected drug overdose, law enforcement officers searching an area for illicit drugs, or medical professionals performing overdose reversal treatment, are often at risk of being exposed to toxic substances such as heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil or other synthetic and non-synthetic opioids," says Frank Tropper, Director of Global Programs, NineSigma.
While advancements in chipsets for future handheld in-field tools, personal protection kits, opioid antidote and K-9 protective equipment are available for purchase, the struggle on the best measures for law enforcement to respond to this disaster can change as quickly as the drugs do.
"Often these first responders have no way of quickly identifying the presence of dangerous substances, or any means to quickly and effectively protect themselves and others. It’s a difficult problem to solve as we continue to fight this opioid epidemic. With this in mind, we are supporting the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge on behalf of the State of Ohio, which aims to advance new technology solutions in the battle against drug abuse and addiction across the U.S. Specifically, the challenge encourages the development of technologies to protect first responders and medical professionals from inadvertent exposure to toxic opioid levels," says Tropper.
The Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge will leverage $8 million of a $20 million commitment to advance new ideas in the battle against drug abuse and addiction. The Challenge is a multi-phase, multi-million-dollar prize competition with escalating prize amounts associated with progressive levels of solution development.
Tropper explains that expected solutions could include ambient detection of opioid residue, medical prophylactics, or protective equipment. "We challenge technology developers to come forward and submit their solutions by July 11 as we seek to uncover, promote and support the development and deployment of these promising technologies," he says.
Up to 12 prize recipients will be announced in September 2018 and will receive $200,000 to advance their solutions, and possibly win an additional $1 million prize. These semi-finalists will be eligible to compete in the final phase of the program, the Product Phase, to further develop their technology for market entry.
More information on the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge can be found at OpioidTechChallenge.com.
