The Ohio Development Services Agency announced Aug. 27 the winners of its Opioid Technology Challenge, each of whom will receive a $1 million prize to further develop their proposed projects to address the opioid epidemic.
The challenge was backed by the state agency's tech development initiative, Ohio Third Frontier, and global innovation network NineSigma. Since the challenge launched in October 2017, dozens of companies have competed to advance their proposals; in September 2018, the pool was narrowed to 12 finalists, each of whom received $200,000 to continue their work until the final four winners were announced this week.
The recipients of the $1 million prizes are:
- University Hospitals (Cleveland): UH Care Continues, an app that streamlines workflows and interventions to act as a "safety net" as patients transition from hospitals back to their communities, therefore preventing opioid abuse, addiction and overdoses.
- Brave Technology Coop (Vancouver, Canada): the Brave Button, a device that, when activated, summons emergency support to the homes of people struggling with opioid use or addiction.
- DynamiCare Health (Boston): an app that facilitates regular testing for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, and offers financial rewards for keeping medical appointments and reaching recovery milestones.
- Prapela (Concord, Mass.): the Stochastic Vibrotactile Stimulation bassinet pad, which generates a gentle vibration to soothe rapid breathing and irregular heart rates in newborns exposed to opioids in the womb.