The National Science Foundation has awarded Workit a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant of $225,000.
The funding will be used for the development of an addiction “thrive-meter” that will assist individuals in identifying and achieving their desired health goals.
Twenty million American adults (8.4% of the population) met the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders in 2014 according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Tens of millions more engage in risky substance use behaviors. Providing appropriate care is time and cost prohibitive. Available resources are frequently poorly matched to patients needs and wants. Left untreated or undertreated, risky substance use impacts every other area of patient health and well-being.
“We’re thrilled to partner with NSF to support the development of cognitive data services that will propel our ability to deliver addiction treatment for the 21st century,” says Lisa McLaughlin, Workit’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “As the entire healthcare industry shifts from clunky interventions reliant on self-report to a precision data economy, we’re honored to have this opportunity to drive the edge in a space where we’ve lost so many to imprecise care models.”
Innovations such as the “thrive-meter” are becoming more important as healthcare moves towards personalized care and recovery. Leveraging AI, qualitative coaching data, and user input to create a measure of a patient’s level of substance wellbeing, the “thrive-meter” will also be developed to integrate future biometric inputs—whether physical fitness trackers, or devices measuring substance intake or blood alcohol content.
Official Announcement and Details Coming Soon
About the National Science Foundation
The NSF is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. Last year, NSF had a budget of $7.5 billion (FY 16) and funded 24 percent of all federally supported research at American colleges and universities.
