While instances of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) are still on the rise, and the eyes of the nation remain focused on a pandemic, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Spark Biomedical, Inc. are tackling opioid withdrawal in newborns — the most innocent victims of the still-looming opioid crisis. This groundbreaking clinical trial pairs Spark’s Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN™) device for newborns — the Roo — with the pediatric neurostimulation expertise and facilities of MUSC to develop a safe and more effective withdrawal relief solution for NOWS.

Spark Biomedical, Inc., a neurostimulation device company developing solutions for opioid withdrawal, today announced open patient enrollment in their clinical trial to validate the company’s auricular neurostimulation device for opioid withdrawal relief — currently named “Phoenix.” Spark is partnering with CARMAhealth a collaborative primary care and psychiatric outpatient practice with a specialty focus on addiction medicine and Recovery Unplugged. Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) will enroll in the trial at two Recovery Unplugged locations in Austin, Texas, and Lake Worth, Florida.