According to Dr. Curtis Cripe of the NTL Group, there are some topics of research in his field which affect everyone. One of them is substance abuse. The problem of substance abuse is age-old and extremely widespread. However, while this battle is far from being won, Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions that education and information have gone a long, long way in helping people everywhere against substance abuse.

On that note, Dr. Curtis Cripe reviews some important facts on substance abuse and treatment which everyone should know.

1. Prescription drugs are addictive.

Millions of Americans have experienced addiction to prescription drugs. From painkillers to cough medicine, a lot of the medication that doctors prescribe can be tragically addictive. Prescription drugs, if not taken in the proper dosages, are not only addictive but are also terribly dangerous.

2. Natural drugs alter brain chemistry.

While synthetic, chemical-based drugs are known to cause overdoses and deaths, organic drugs such as mushrooms may also have harmful effects. The fact of the matter is any drugs used for recreation alters brain chemistry, and this does not bode well for anyone. They can also be addictive.

3. Detoxification is not a cure.

One of the most common misconceptions about the process of detoxification is that it is a cure for addiction. Detox may be an important step in the process, but Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions that a person’s substance addiction is a long-term battle that wages on long after a person has kicked the habit. Detox does not eliminate the habitual or addictive craving for a drug, substance or activity.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is a neuroengineer with a multi-disciplinary background that includes drug abuse treatment. He is also the head of the Research and Development department of NTL group. Find out more about Dr. Cripe’s work by following this Facebook page.

Healthcare and technology play a huge role in the work of Dr. Curtis Cripe and the NTL Group. He has blogged about these technologies' numerous applications to give people a clearer picture of how far healthcare has come and what people can come to expect in the future.

In today's blog, Dr. Curtis Cripe looks back at one of the biggest technological developments in the field of research and healthcare – telemedicine.

Telemedicine, conceptualized over half-a-century ago, has become a reality, a way to treat patients in far-flung areas with extremely limited access to healthcare or medical professionals. Advancements and breakthroughs in technology have helped telemedicine evolve to a point wherein people can virtually see doctors and other healthcare professonals. Doctors/Health Professionals can see patients from just about anywhere in the world – as long as there's an internet connection.

Telemedicine has not only allowed access from doctors to patients, but in recent years, drones have been able to send medication to places that motor vehicles would otherwise not reach. Drones play a significant role, especially during emergencies with volatile circumstances.

And speaking of emergencies, Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions that telemedicine has drastically cut treatment time for people with urgent medical conditions.

Amazingly, but not surprisingly, telemedicine has even made an impact in industries other than healthcare. For example, in sports, physicians get to almost immediately address injuries in athletes, Dr. Curtis Cripe adds.

Curtis Cripe, Ph.D., heads research and development at the NTL Group, which uses neuroengineering technology to treat addiction, head injury (TBI), depression, anxiety, memory disorders, and neurodevelopmental delays in children with learning disorders. More on Dr. Cripe’s work here.

One of the harshest things about drug addiction, according to Dr. Curtis Cripe of NTL Group, is that almost everyone everywhere knows someone who is suffering from it. It is one of the biggest social, political, and health issues globally, and governments everywhere have yet to find a solid plan to end it.

For today’s blog, Dr. Curtis Cripe shares a few truths about drug addiction everyone should know about.

Detoxification

Detoxification or detox is the process of taking out drugs in a person’s body, effectively cleansing it. While it is by no means a cure, detox is an essential part of an addict’s path to recovery. Detox can be done through artificial or natural means. And after detox, people still need to find a way to stave off the addiction.

Prescription drugs

While prescription drugs are legal, they have the potential to be destructively addictive. This happens when patients take more than the dosage their physicians prescribe. Dr. Curtis Cripe reminds everyone that just like with illegal drugs, it is possible to overdose on prescription drugs as well.

Natural drugs

While people have tried to justify taking drugs such as marijuana and mushrooms by citing their natural qualities, they change brain chemistry, which Dr. Curtis Cripe mentions is still dangerous. People also have to remember that these natural drugs also carry with them negative side effects.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is the head of research and development at the NTL Group. He has published two peer-reviewed papers and wrote two book chapters on neurotherapy and neuroengineering. For related posts, visit this blog.

The path of recovering drug addicts will always be an uphill climb for a significant part of their lives. Like Dr. Curtis Cripe, professionals in the field are concerned with how they are doing in today’s pandemic situation.

A lot of misfortunes have resulted from COVID-19. To name a few, the world is dealing with job loss, loneliness in isolation, and even the overpowering fear of being infected by the virus. These situations have hugely changed the average person. People have been forced to think of creative ways to find some sense of comfort.

If regular people are having a tough time, you can imagine how much more difficult it is for those recovering from drug addiction, notes Dr. Curtis Cripe. People need to understand that a drug addict got into drugs in the first place because they were trying to find comfort, too. The reality in a drug dependent’s life is that they find comfort in taking in addictive substances. Unfortunately, a drug addict will always find the temptation to take drugs very challenging, which gets worse during this unfortunate pandemic.

More than ever, Dr. Curtis Cripe urges all friends and family members to check up on loved ones they know to be drug dependents. Especially those who are in the middle of recovery are worth checking up on, too. This pandemic is just too tough to deal with that we will all need to help each other out when we can.

Dr. Curtis Cripe has a diverse background in neuroengineering, aerospace engineering, psychology, psychophysiology, software development and programming, addiction recovery, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. He currently heads the Research and Development Division of NTL Group, for advanced technology for brain and cognitive repair. He is certified as an INPP instructor for brain development. For more information, visit this page.

Medicine is approaching science fiction territory. Any sci-fi geek will get excited at the idea of specialists augmenting their bodies with robotics should they get paralyzed. Exoskeletons, basically robotic frameworks that will allow human bodies to ride in them, will do the moving for paraplegics.
Usually, spinal cord injuries reduces the quality of life of patients and meant a lifetime of moving using a wheelchair. Now some companies like ReWalk are engineering exoskeletons that will allow spinal cord injury sufferers with more mobility options. ReWalk has been producing these robotic frames for more than 4 years, after the Food and Drug Administration approved their product in 2016.

Exoskeletons enabled patients to go upright and prevent the side effects of laying prone all the time like bed sores, urinary tract infections, and worse, sepsis. Unfortunately, patients must still have control of their arms and hands for them to be viable candidates for the device. Another caveat for the tech is that it’s still largely viewed as experimental, so not all insurers will cover it. The only one to do it so far is the Office of Veteran Affairs.

Patients who can wear the exoskeleton will require training to be able to control it properly. Right now, training centers are limited and, again, only the military has been expanding the presence of these training facilities and mainly for injured veterans.

Since the tech itself is barely five years old, we’re sure exoskeleton use for paraplegics will find adoption in many areas of the world soon.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is currently working with other experts and specialists in a committee created by the White House and NASA to form protocols and procedures for TeleHealth and TeleMedicine during COVID-19. Outside of this official business, Dr. Curtis Cripeheads the NTL Group and studies ways to improve the lives of people living with brain injuries and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Addiction is one of the leading causes of misery today, because it affects a person physically and socially. However, there is always hope for a recovery if a dependent finds the will to beat the odds, coupled with the support of other individuals who care for his wellbeing. Dr. Curtis Cripe shares his thoughts on how to increase the chances of recovery from addiction.

1. Constant communication
Drug or alcohol dependents are prone to dealing with intense thoughts and emotions at any moment. Over time, this builds up so much emotional and mental pressure which the individual processes internally. In addiction therapy and counseling, constant communication is one of the keys for the addict to manage this pressure.

2. Full disclosure
When an addict decides to come out of his shell, this is a big breakthrough. There is quite an amount of shame in being an addict, and it really takes a lot of courage to come out with an admission. That being said, this level of honesty needs to be maintained, especially in communication sessions with professionals like counselors and health professionals that are around to help. Honesty allows them to make correct assessments, adds Dr. Curtis Cripe.

3. Keep a support system
An addict needs the help of other people, because frankly, he is not in the most ideal frame of mind to be left alone. This simply comes with the territory of being in such a state. The support of family and friends is essential to the successful recovery of an addict. These people are expected to be the ones to remind the addict of how much better his life can be without drugs or alcohol, shares Dr. Curtis Cripe.

Dr. Curtis Cripe has a diverse background in neuroengineering, aerospace engineering, psychology, psychophysiology, software development and programming, addiction recovery, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. For similar topics, please visit this page.

Of the many problems that we need to face out there, addiction has become quite the kind foe that is not to be taken lightly. Dr. Curtis Cripe shares his take on the matter with a more clinical view of addiction.

Addiction is a complex condition, which is characterized by a person’s habitual desire to use a substance despite knowing of the harmful consequences it brings. The experts see addiction as a disease of the brain.

It so happens that there are some people who have mental disorders even with a normal lifestyle. If such a person goes into drugs, this could further activate the mental disorder and make things worse by way of impairment in judgement and decision-making, along with some loss in cognitive functions.

There are also those who try drugs out of curiosity and, all of a sudden, this causes a mental disorder. This then has a compounding effect that traps the individual in a vicious cycle, making him hooked on the substance for the long haul.

Dr. Curtis Cripe notes that addicts are after the feeling of pleasure, relief from stress, and even enhancement of performance, which makes drug addiction very hard to contend with. Over time, the addict develops a tolerance for the substance, and they eventually need increasingly higher doses of drugs just to get his high.

An addict is often seen as one who belongs to the lowest class of society. It’s not uncommon for addicts to lose their loved ones and their friends, and get deeper into substance abuse with all that isolation from the world. Sadly, society tends to look down on them too. Perhaps, if addiction were to be more understood in the clinical sense, then addicts would be seen as victims in need of help, rather than criminals who deserve to be punished.

With a diverse professional and academic background behind him, Dr. Curtis Cripe, and the NTL Group have developed several neuroengineering diagnostic and treatment programs for neurological dysfunctions such as addiction and learning disorders. For more information, visit this page.

For a time, people were not taking remote diagnostics seriously enough. However, believers like Dr. Curtis Cripe always knew that one day, people would depend more on it. Today, remote diagnostics has found the perfect ally in the availability of technology.
At the onset, the limitations brought about by the pandemic has forced people to be less physical in their interactions, and move most of their activities to the virtual space. Looking at the bright side, the palpable shift to technology and connectivity has allowed people to become more welcoming of online services, not the least of which being remote diagnostics.

This is for good reason, just looking at how formidable of a technology telemedicine is. Its concept was proven long before the pandemic even came, when NASA used the technology as a way to distantly manage the health of their astronauts in outer space. The world has the space agency to thank for eventually bringing telemedicine to remote locations on the planet.

Today, people are so distanced from everything else, healthcare included. With the use of smart phone technology and computer connectivity, doctors are able to manage a significant portion of their patients’ needs.

Thanks to remote diagnostics, people no longer have to risk exposing themselves to the virus by being physically present in the doctor’s clinic, or even a hospital which is already at full capacity due to CoVid19 positive patients. A huge part of the market no longer has to commute to the hospital, leaving the roads more open for those who have better reasons to travel.

Experts like Dr. Curtis Cripe project that remote diagnostics has found renewed hope because of the sudden demand for it. Not only is it a huge market today, but it will be for the times ahead, even after the cure for the virus is found.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is a multidisciplinary neuroengineer and aerospace engineer whose diverse background includes software development, bioengineering, addiction recovery, psychophysiology, psychology, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. Dr. Curtis Cripe is also part of a White House-NASA committee whose task is to spearhead telemedicine during this time of pandemic.

If you or a family member is experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, acting early could save their life or yours. It can also limit the effects of the virus in your home and in your community, according to Dr. Curtis Cripe. As you or your family member self-isolate in order to assess and contain the possible threat, it is important for caregivers to know what to look for later on. Here are some symptoms shown by COVID-19 patients as their sickness progresses.

Day 1 The first day of showing the symptoms may not necessarily be the day you came in to contact with the virus. It is possible that you were asymptomatic and Day 1 is the first day that you showed symptoms. Early symptoms of COVID-19 include tiredness, dry cough, and a high fever.