Enhanced Digital-Chemosensory-Based Olfactory Training for Remote Management of Substance Use Disorders — EDITOR  

Alcohol Use Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title: Development and Evaluation of Enhanced Digital-Chemosensory-Based Olfactory Training for Remote Management of Substance Use Disorders (EDITOR)

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

The overarching goal of this study phase, Phase II component is to implement Enhanced Digital-Chemosensory-Based Olfactory Training for Remote Management of Substance Use Disorders (EDITOR) device in substance use disorder (SUD) clinics to demonstrate pilot effectiveness for SUD outcomes compared to treatment as usual (TAU) and Computerized Chemosensory-Based Orbitofrontal Networks Training (CBOT) device as active control. The investigators will conduct a multi-site study of 300 adult patients with opiate use disorder (OUD), stimulant (i.e., cocaine, methamphetamine) and/or alcohol use disorder (AUD) from community and clinics to evaluate whether EDITOR is associated with better patient treatment outcomes (e.g., retention in treatment and abstinence). The pilot study will provide preliminary data needed for design of a Phase III trial, including estimates of effect size. The investigators will also explore development of machine learning/AI algorithms integrating clinical and physiological data into treatment decision guides for providers.

Clinical Trial Description

The Development and Evaluation of Enhanced Digital-Chemosensory-Based Olfactory Training for Remote Management of Substance Use Disorders (EDITOR) is a project to develop a sustainable, scalable, and patient-centered mobile health platform, comprised of (1) a patient-facing culturally-adapted digital chemosensory therapeutic for stimulant, alcohol and opioid use disorders, sensors for acquisition of objective physiological measures of substance intoxication and withdrawal, and an application for running and interpreting the interventions and sensory acquisition programs; and (2) a provider-facing web portal, for substance use disorder treatment in socially disadvantaged and sexual minority populations.

The small business, Evon Medics implemented the use of the EDITOR device as a novel approach for remote management of substance use disorders (SUDs) amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Management of SUD mostly involve direct contact between patients and providers, but the precedence of COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the need for patient-centered remote management of SUD. While digital therapeutics and mobile health platforms provide avenues for remote management, communities of African Americans (AA), Hispanic Americans (HA) and other socially disadvantaged populations lag in adoption of these mobile platforms, due to inability to read, digital illiteracy, lack of access to smartphones, absence of reliable Wi-Fi or internet, and financial constraints. Moreover, while interventions exist for OUD, there are no drugs for cocaine or stimulant use disorders. Underserved AA and HA communities with OUD, particularly marginalized men who have sex with men (MSM), have more severe co-existing cocaine, methamphetamine, and alcohol use disorders; and digital solutions for these populations are lacking. Providers on the other hand, lack well-adapted, intelligent-based physiological and psychophysical acquisition platforms to guide remote agonist management of opioid and alcohol withdrawal.

EVON Medics developed a combinatorial digital chemosensory-based orbitofrontal cortex training for Opioid Use Disorder (CBOT). Based on the limitations of CBOT for the socially disadvantaged AA, HA and MSM population, the investigators recently revised the platform for treatment of stimulant and alcohol use disorder, by including beta-caryophyllene chemosensory stimulation. Further product development, with innovative changes to the patient-facing platform and a new provider-facing platform to guide remote management of OUD, stimulant (cocaine and methamphetamine) use and alcohol use disorders were preliminary tested (Phase I) in affiliated substance use community programs and community populations in the under-served communities in Washington, DC and Maryland.

In this study phase, Phase II of this Fast-Track SBIR application, the investigators will conduct a pilot randomized trial of EDITOR compared to treatment as usual and CBOT for office-based treatment of SUDs in several federal funded programs associated with Evon Medics and Howard University, to assess EDITOR's effectiveness in improving treatment retention, reducing relapses, and mitigating SUD severity, and offering a promising solution for home-based SUD treatment. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Alcohol Use Disorder
• Alcoholism
• Cocaine Use Disorder
• Methamphetamine-dependence
• Opioid Use Disorder
• Opioid-Related Disorders
• Substance Use Disorders
• Substance-Related Disorders

• NCT number: NCT06434818
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Evon Medics LLC
• Contact: Evaristus Nwulia, MD
• Phone: 410-227-2005
• Email: enwulia@evonmedics.org
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: July 7, 2023
• Completion date: June 30, 2025