# A Clothing-Adhered Wearable to Monitor Biomarkers of Cognitive/Emotional State and Deliver Just-in-Time Behavioral Interventions

> **NIH NIH U43** · SPIRE, INC. · 2020 · $75,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs) is greatly impacted by the cognitive and emotional state of
the individual, and learning new thought and behavioral patterns can facilitate successful treatment and
recovery. Specifically, fluctuations in stress or anxiety can trigger lapses to drug use. Even when actual use
is avoided, stress-induced craving is likely to be distracting and to reduce productivity and quality of life.
One promising approach to this problem is the continuous, passive monitoring of autonomic indicators that
relate to cognitive/emotional state, stress, and craving, and providing behavioral triggers and guidance at
appropriate moments. Existing wearable devices do not provide this type of feedback and those that do are
research tools not amenable to daily use in terms of practicality, cost, and wearer acceptance.
To solve these issues and provide a device suitable for daily, widespread use, our company, Spire, Inc.,
created a novel form-factor wearable health monitor, the Spire Health Tag, that makes ​the user’s existing
clothing​‘smart.’ The Health Tag has a Band-Aid-like adhesive that the user adheres on an article of clothing.
The Health Tag was inspired by Spire’s first commercial product, a clothing-attached (rather than adhered)
device called the Spire Stone. The Stone was the first commercially available health monitor to provide
just-in-time behavioral interventions for cognitive/emotional regulation. It functions by monitoring changes
in ​respiratory patterns​and providing alerts and guidance to the wearer via the smartphone app. The Stone
and Health Tag are designed to help users manage stress by making them aware of the situations and
conditions that trigger it. The Stone is currently the most successful wearable device for cognitive/emotional
health in both Amazon.com and Apple’s retail stores; the Tag builds on its features.
Though used primarily by subclinical populations in a consumer context, we believe Spire devices can be
extended to other populations such as those treated being for SUDs. This application will test the hypotheses
that (a) the Health Tag form factor is suitable to appeal and high adherence among individuals with SUDs
and (b) monitoring and feedback with the Health Tag can help reduce stress during recovery. To this end, we
have partnered with researchers at NIDA IRP on a broader research agenda and this application aims to
investigate Spire’s impact.
First, this study will develop an in-app, adaptive stress management program, utilizing the Spire Health Tag,
to reduce stress and anxiety among individuals with SUDs. Once this has been achieved, we will evaluate the
feasibility of the intervention with a small, 6-week pilot study of individuals with SUDs (n=40), assessing its
perceived utility and impact on stress and anxiety.
We hypothesize that use of the Spire Health Tag and the accompanying program targeted at SUD will be
welcomed by target patients and help reduce stress ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10131908
- **Project number:** 3U43DA046148-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** SPIRE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Neema Mortazavi Moraveji
- **Activity code:** U43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $75,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2021-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10131908

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10131908, A Clothing-Adhered Wearable to Monitor Biomarkers of Cognitive/Emotional State and Deliver Just-in-Time Behavioral Interventions (3U43DA046148-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10131908. Licensed CC0.

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