DOSE: A patient-facing tool to track and standardize opioid use for safer treatments
Official title: Creation and Validation of the Dose-Opioid-Source Evaluation tool (DOSE) - a Robust Opioid Use Clinical Outcome Assessment for Qualification as an FDA Medical Device Development Tool (MDDT)
Funded at Mmj Labs, LLC · NIH-11257679 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A patient-centered tool is being developed to accurately track opioid use during clinical studies and translate it into standard morphine-equivalent amounts to help improve opioid-sparing therapies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mmj Labs, LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $347,237 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DA058952-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11257679 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults enrolled in clinical trials who are using opioids for acute or chronic pain and can consent to report all opioid use.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not participating in a clinical trial or not using opioids would not directly benefit from this tool.
What this research studies
This project creates a patient-friendly survey module that patients in trials can use to report every opioid they use—prescribed, bought, or borrowed. It then converts those reports into a single, standard measure called milligrams of morphine equivalents (MME) to enable consistent comparisons across trials. The goal is to support researchers and device developers seeking safer pain therapies and clearer regulatory evidence. The tool aims to fit into clinical trial workflows with informed consent and robust data reporting. It builds on existing CDC conversion data and works toward FDA qualification as a Medical Device Development Tool.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could benefit from better, more consistent measurement of opioid use in trials, supporting safer, more effective pain treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Other opioid-use measurement approaches exist, but this tool aims for FDA qualification and standardized MME conversion, a relatively novel integration in this context.
Where this research is happening
-
Mmj Labs, LLC
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Baxter, Amy Lynn — Mmj Labs, LLC
- Study coordinator: Baxter, Amy Lynn
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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.