At-home app that uses rewards to help people stop stimulant use
Official title: Decentralized clinical trial of contingency management digital therapeutic to treat stimulant use disorder
Funded at Dynamicare Health, INC. · NIH-11184245 · Data updated 2026-11-12
An at-home smartphone program offers rewards and self-guided therapy to help people with stimulant use disorder reduce or stop stimulant use.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dynamicare Health, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 15, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,011,586 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DA059519-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11184245 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with stimulant use disorder (for example, cocaine or methamphetamine) who are willing to use a smartphone and complete remote saliva tests are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without reliable smartphone access, who cannot complete remote saliva sampling, need inpatient care, or prefer medication-based approaches may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
This remote program uses a smartphone app called DCH-003 that combines reward-based contingency management with self-guided behavioral therapy over a full year. You would submit random, supervised saliva tests by recording a selfie video while taking a rapid test, and the app automatically delivers rewards when tests show abstinence. Most visits and monitoring happen on your phone so the treatment can fit into daily life without frequent clinic trips. The team aims to see if this automated, longer-term digital program can be delivered reliably and help people stay off stimulants where clinic-based programs are hard to access.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could provide an easy-to-use, at-home treatment that encourages abstinence with rewards and may be billed like other prescription digital therapies.
How similar studies have gone: Contingency management has strong evidence for helping stimulant use disorder and digital therapies have shown promise, but fully automated, year-long programs with remote saliva testing are relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Dynamicare Health, INC.
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gastfriend, David R — Dynamicare Health, INC.
- Study coordinator: Gastfriend, David R
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.