We have devices like FitBit that can track your steps, detect your heart rate, count your calories, and making sure you are healthy everywhere you go. This summer will be the launch of a device similar to that one but made specifically to stop the cravings of addiction preventing your recovery and leading to a relapse. Penn State researchers created WearIt which is a device to help people struggling with addiction by giving advice, connecting to sponsors, and making sure that you attend your meetings like you have planned.
Penn State was the winner of the Ben Franklin TechCelerator program where they won $10,000 in December to help bring their invention close to the market. This involves a wearable device, smartphone, and web server to detect indicators of stress as well as anxiety in one device. WearIt offers feedback to keep the user focused on recovery and depends on their preferences, learns over time how the patient prefers feedback, requirements of their recovery program, and more.
This device can detect when you are having cravings and offers interventions in the moments when you experience cravings. It will collect additional data to give to others involved in your recovery. It can be options like a quick game or breathing exercises. WearIt will also ask you if you want to contact your sponsors or look at a picture of your children so that you are reminded why you went into recovery in the first place. WearIt can find your heart rate measurements, freeform text, GPS location, time of day, temperature levels, sleep and movement, and images and video multimedia. You can take pictures or a short video with your smartphone camera or a short snippet video with a microphone.
WearIt will give you summarized reports to share with your counselor, sponsor, parent, or spouse to understand the factors in your addiction and your recovery. You will be able to track your recovery efforts like the times and locations of Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, reminders, and goal setting. There is also a subscription-based reporting service to send to rehab centers. With the $10,000, Penn State would be able to continue their development of the product, create a business plan, efficacy study with rehab, hiring a CEO, and seeking investors. By summer of 2018, we hope to see WearIt change the lives of addicts struggling with addiction and recovery.
Located in downtown Midland, The Springboard Center’s mission is to offer programs and services to treat alcohol and drug addiction treatment using an evidence based curriculum, 12 step programs, diet, nutrition, exercise, emotional, mental and spiritual development for a long recovery. For more information, please call us at 432-620-0255 as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
