The Prize
The highest scoring team for the Concept Phase will be awarded a prize based on a formal judging process using the judging criteria stated in the challenge guidelines, below. A qualified judging panel will determine the winners.
- 5 published finalists
- 1 Winner: $5,000
- A Crowd Vote will take place from February 19th to February 23rd, 2018. The crowd favorite winner will receive $1,000.
Submission Requirements
The winning team of the Addiction Relapse Technology Challenge will propose a three-part solution.
- To detect the earliest signs of relapse before it occurs in adults.
- To prevent relapse by helping to manage sobriety.
- To enable researchers and medical physicians to collect biological data that will help deepen our understanding of the field.
The technology’s three-part solution is explained below. Innovators must complete the Submission Form questions directly related to these three components:
I. Detect Relapse
The winning technology is encouraged to incorporate both neurological and biological indicators to create the most accurate detecting tool for relapse. Once detected, the technology will alert the technological user (in this paper the term ‘user’ will refer to technological user) and his/her support network to provide help.
Teams are tasked to design a consumer-driven solution to monitor neurological and biological signals indicative of early relapse.
There are two known areas of the brain associated with addiction impulse and are predictors of relapse. The first area is the brain’s low inhibitory control network, typically hypo-active, making the addict's desire to say "no" more difficult. The second area is the brain’s reward circuitry where the high risks of certain situations are often ignored for instant gratification. (Reference: Carla Clark interview.) Currently, machinery found mostly in medical offices can monitor brain activity linked to addiction, such as an Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalography (EEG), and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIR).
Stress and anxiety are the most common biological predictors of relapse. A person’s stress response often mirrors withdrawal symptoms as seen through elevated heart rate, pulse rate, temperature change, skin conductance, etc. Stress can be measured by a multitude of means and positive or negative experiences can trigger vital signs associated with stress. To avoid false alarms due to a positive experience, it will be important for this technology to have check-ins with the user before setting off an alert.
II. Prevent Relapse
Creating a strong support structure helps to prevent relapse. Addiction is a chronic disease, and thus an ongoing element of support is needed to equip recovering addicts with the tools to deal with stressful situations. (Reference: Dr. Suzette Glasner-Edwards interview.) As a complement to the detecting part of the technology, a support feature should be included to promote healthy living, manage sobriety, and divert temptation when impulse hits.
A host of smartphone sobriety apps already exist to manage addiction. Our goal is to personalize the solution to the individual and make it accessible in the global marketplace. Customizing the technology will increase a person’s likelihood for compliance and may even alleviate time and money spent in medical offices.
This part of the solution can be integrated with the actual technology or stand-alone by linking with a smartphone or computer.
III. Collect biological, neurological and behavioural data
Research surrounding addiction recovery is poorly documented. Our goal is to record data that will improve our understanding of addiction and aid in the eradication of the pandemic. As people begin to use the technology, data will be collected about a person’s physical, neurological, and behavioral patterns. CLEAR Health Technology will have sole access to the data, while the technological user will be able to view their own data. A privacy feature will allow the technological user to opt out of having their data shared all together. CLEAR plans to utilize the data to draw more attention to addiction research, treatments, and recovery efforts.
Judging Criteria: Concept Phase
Judges will review individual and team entries that are submitted by the deadline, February 16th, 2018, and evaluate by the criteria listed below. The judges may request additional information from teams.
Metric Description |
Points |
Accuracy and speed of neurological and biological indicators:
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At least four total indicators have been identified with supportive evidence of linking indicators to potential relapse
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Access to all indicators are clearly accessible with the device
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Lead time from detecting an indicator to potential relapse, supported with research
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Probability of a false positive or false negative alert is under 10%
|
40
10
10
10
10
|
Early warning alert system:
- Technology uses daily check-ins and strategic check-ins to accurately identify when an abnormality should trigger an alert.
- Three risk levels (low, medium and high) conduct different responses depending on the urgency
- Early warning system provides a response to user’s support networks with a call to action.
|
20
10
5
5
|
Customization and Innovation:
- Chosen healthy behaviors help prevent relapse
- Temptations caused by triggers are avoided in a creative and helpful manner by using personal information to prevent reuse of opioids.
- Real-time platform to instantly collect and record all of the user’s data.
- Analytical tool to organize the information in categories
- Feature that supports privacy and anonymity for the user
|
25
5
5
5
5
5
|
Additional Components:
- Innovativeness of approach, including new ideas and/or building on current market solutions
- Appearance is discreet and not stigmatized as an “addict's device”
|
15
5
10
|
What Can You Do Right Now?
- Read the complete challenge guidelines to see the rules and requirements for entry into the challenge.
- “Accept Challenge” by clicking the orange button above to compete in the challenge.
- Follow the challenge above to be notified of any status updates to the challenge.
- Share this challenge on social media using the icons above. Show your friends, your family, or anyone you know who has a passion for discovery.
- Start a conversation in our Forum to join the conversation, ask questions or connect with other innovators.
Additional Rules
Participation Eligibility
The Addiction Relapse Technology Challenge is open to all adult individuals, private teams, public teams, and collegiate teams. Teams may originate from any country. Submissions must be made in English. All challenge-related communication will be in English.
No specific qualification or expertise in the opioid field is required. Challenge organizers encourage outside individuals and non-expert teams to compete and propose new solutions. To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the challenge as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement, which will be made available upon registration.
Registration and Submissions
Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the HeroX.com website, on or before the stated deadlines. All uploads must be in PDF format. No late submissions will be accepted.
Selection of Winners
Based on the winning criteria, prizes will be awarded per the Judging Criteria section above. In the case of a tie, the winner(s) will be selected based on the highest votes from the Judges.
Judging Panel
The determination of the winners will be made by a group of people including experts in addiction who have treated addictive behavior, conducted extensive research in the field, sober coach and/or rehab counselor, technology expert and more.
Intellectual Property
CLEAR Health Technology Inc. will retain all rights of the intellectual property including the submission material and the actual technology device. Please review the Challenge-specific agreement made available upon registration for further information.
Additional Information:
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By participating in the challenge, each competitor agrees to submit only their original idea. Any indication of "copying" amongst competitors is grounds for disqualification.
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All applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea that is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
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All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
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No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the competition.
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Void wherever restricted or prohibited by law.