In the tight grip of an opioid crisis, most of the 50 states in the US have experienced measurable increases in opioid-related deaths in recent years. As the number of these deaths continues to multiply, the opioid epidemic has become a nationwide public health crisis. This crisis not only impacts the US but takes a heavy toll on the families and communities who have lost loved ones due to overdose.
Intimately understanding the grief that comes with losing a loved one to opioid exposure, ZEM Life is a solution-focused startup co-founded by Steven Muth and Joanna Sawyer, MD, who are on a mission to make a meaningful impact in overdose prevention and the pain inflicted by the opioid epidemic.
One night, Muth’s 23-year-old son, Zachary Ernest Muth, took a pill laced with fentanyl and never woke up. Muth shared, “When you lose something that important, it’s like an overwhelming anxiety of pain.” Instead of losing himself in tremendous guilt, Muth used his pain as motivation to take action to help prevent other parents from feeling similar heartache.
Ultimately, Muth began to wonder about the possibilities of a wearable device that could act as an emergency room, checking your vitals and helping mitigate these preventable deaths immediately and on the spot.
Muth and Dr. Sawyer met on a blind date; this crossing of paths helped turn his idea into a reality. Muth discovered that Dr. Sawyer was an anesthesiologist with both medical expertise and a shared passion for creating a positive impact, making her an ideal partner to help turn this life-changing idea into a reality.
After hearing Muth’s story, Dr. Sawyer helped design a medical smartwatch capable of delivering life-saving medication when needed. Thus, ZEM Life was born, a feasible, life-saving technology named after Muth’s son (Zachary Ernest Muth).
ZEM Life’s smartwatch monitors for a potential overdose using several data points, such as pulse and oxygen levels. If an overdose is detected, the smartwatch alerts the watch wearer. If the alarm is not disengaged, the watch administers Narcan—a life-saving medicine that reverses opioid overdoses—and sends a GPS signal of the watch-wearer’s location to nearby authorities.
Muth and Dr. Sawyer are tackling overdose first and featuring Narcan as the flagship medication in honor of Muth’s son, Zach. They fully understand and appreciate the impact of real-time intervention in saving countless lives, especially among those who may be alone during an overdose.
The expansive potential for the technology reaches across multiple health emergencies where instant recognition and timed medications could positively impact outcomes, including anaphylaxis shock, cardiac arrest, and venomous bites.
Dr. Sawyer believes that ZEM Life’s vision for expanding the technology’s impact beyond opioid overdose prevention delivers on the company’s goal to create a “new industry like BAND-AID did.” The new market she envisions is about technology and brands focused on “preventable death, as we believe ZEM Life will be synonymous with saving life with just the right medications at the right time.”
Guided by a mission to bring life-saving technology to a country grappling with another wave of an opioid crisis, ZEM Life is tackling the question “why” when it comes to preventable deaths. It’s what keeps Steven Muth and Dr. Joanna Sawyer focused on incredible resources that when combined with life-saving medicine can mean more lives saved—and more families kept together.
