CURRENT RESEARCH
July 11, 2017
Project ABBIE
An automated device for early detection and treatment of anaphylaxis
Over 15 million Americans are at risk of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction triggered by exposure to certain foods, materials, medications and insect bites. Every three minutes a food reaction sends someone to the emergency room.
In most individuals, anaphylactic shock can be prevented by administering the counteracting drug, epinephrine. Yet, despite effective treatments, death from anaphylaxis still occurs and prevention remains difficult to achieve. Due to the rapid and unrelenting progression of symptoms, tragedy strikes when life-saving epinephrine is not available or cannot be injected into anaphylaxis-stricken individuals immediately upon initiation of an attack.
The Wyss Institute and the KeepSmilin4Abbie Foundation have partnered to advance research and development efforts in the early detection and treatment of anaphylaxis. The partnership aims to develop a deep understanding of the processes heralding an oncoming anaphylactic episode at the earliest stages in order to develop a wearable device for both rapid detection of anaphylaxis onset and automated injection of epinephrine.
The immediate goal of the effort is to understand the physiological and biochemical signals that occur with anaphylaxis and then develop a wearable device that continually monitors these signals. When anaphylaxis is detected, the device would alarm the patient, send signals to caregivers by cell phone, and auto-inject the epinephrine therapeutic, saving the lives of at-risk children and adults who suffer from severe allergies.
Along this path, multiple technology components are being developed that offer additional potential for broader application. Biochemical analytical methods are being created to continuously monitor biomarker levels to help determine anaphylactic risk. Newly developed sensor technology will be able to detect these internal biochemical and physiological alarm signals. These biological signatures will be integrated by a proprietary computer algorithm to actuate a response leading to the rapid administration of epinephrine through an engineered wearable epinephrine auto-injector.
The technology is available for licensing.
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Copyright and credits to the Wyss Institute at Harvard University
