COPA, an Automated Medication Dispensing and Remote Management System for at Home Methadone Dispensing

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ABSTRACT Methadone maintenance reduces and/or eliminates the use of opioids, reduces the death rates and criminality associated with opioid use, and allows patients to improve their health and social productivity. In addition, enrollment in Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) can reduce the transmission of infectious diseases associated with opioid injection, such as hepatitis and HIV. The Computerized Oral Prescription Administration System (COPATM) device is being developed as an automated oral liquid dispensing system. COPA is specifically designed to deliver liquid oral controlled and non-controlled medications to the validated Intended User. While the need for COPA began with an opioid epidemic with adverse consequences that have escalated in the last two decades, an even more urgent need for a take-home device supporting opioid use disorder (OUD) patients emerged at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has limited access to methadone maintenance therapy/treatment at opioid treatment programs in both urban and rural sections of the US. The COPA device has a major application to at-home methadone maintenance treatment, based upon the device's innovative dual biometric confirmation of both the patient's fingerprint and dentition before delivery of drug. We propose to design, engineer and human factor test an enhanced COPA prototype and submit it for FDA De Novo approval.