Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and costly digestive condition characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits (diarrhea, constipation, or mixed type). IBS is a disorder of brain-gut dysregulation, including the amplification of normal gut signals at the level of the brain. Yet most medical therapies for IBS to date have focused on symptom management and dietary change with only minor improvements in symptoms, especially in moderate to severe cases. Brain targeted therapies that improve perception of gut signals are effective and increasingly utilized. One of these therapies, gut-directed hypnotherapy, presents a significant problem of access for individuals seeking treatment. Current delivery models require access to qualified providers who offer scientifically validated protocols specifically designed for IBS. Access is severely limited to only a few major academic institutions in urban settings. Furthermore, gut-directed hypnotherapy requires a substantial time and cost commitment from patients. To address the problem of patient access, metaMe, a small business, has developed a new solution through a digital hypnosis program that allows patients to connect with a highly qualified therapist and receive the hypnosis intervention from their own home on their own schedule, including evenings or weekends, at less than a fifth of the cost of traditional therapy. In this Phase I proposal, metaMe and its research partners will demonstrate that the digital hypnosis program is feasible and acceptable to patients.
More than 10 percent of people in the United States suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). IBS is the second-most costly chronic condition for employers, with $10 billion per year in direct medical costs and $20 billion per year in productivity loss. If our project is successful, there would be a significant market for this technology, improving access to an already well established effective brain-gut therapy.
