Toronto-based Field Trip Health will be using WHOOP’s biometric wristband to measure the biometric effects of psychedelic therapies. Field Trip specializes in both the development and delivery of psychedelic treatments, and will specifically be using the WHOOP Strap 3.0 to determine whether or not ketamine-assisted therapies can improve physical health.
In that regard, Field Trip noted that ketamine has already been shown to be beneficial for people struggling with mental health conditions like depression and PTSD. The company is hoping that it can have a similarly positive effect on things like heart rate and sleep quality, and will be using the WHOOP Strap to measure those outcomes during trials. The Straps themselves were obtained through a research partnership with WHOOP’s enterprise program, which also gave Field Trip access to additional data analytic tools.
The participants in the Field Trip study will be military veterans in the company’s Basecamp program, which also treats people in intense professions like healthcare and firefighting. The company noted that veterans have higher rates of PTSD than the general public, and stressed that the psychedelics are legal, and that the study participants will be volunteers.
“We have noted a significant reduction in depressive symptoms from severe or moderately severe to mild or non-existent, along with reduction in anxiety and trauma related symptoms,” said Field Trip Chief Clinical Officer Ryan Yermus. “Through this partnership with WHOOP and the observational study we will be conducting, we expect to find that these improvements in mental health correlate strongly to improvements in a person’s biometrics as well.”
Field Trip currently has facilities in Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles, and is looking to expand to other locations in Europe and North America. WHOOP, on the other hand, was recently valued at $1.2 billion after bringing in $100 million in a round of Series E funding. The company’s bands are currently being used in a COVID-19 vaccine trial, and have also been used to track the health of players on the LPGA tour.
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