A San Francisco-based company has won a US government-sponsored competition with an alcohol-monitoring device that can be worn on the wrist, the latest milestone in the development of wearable technologies that monitor and diagnose medical conditions.
BACtrack, a privately held medical device maker, took the US$200,000 top prize in the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Wearable Biosensor Challenge on Thursday with its wristband monitor, which measures blood alcohol levels via sweat on the skin.
The product, dubbed BACtrack Skyn, has not yet been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval.
George Koob, head of the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said he expected the device to be a valuable resource for the alcohol-research community.
“It can help doctors accurately measure a patient’s drinking history, and not just depend on the most recent tests,” Koob said. “This can help a lot with the treatment.”
Medical, law enforcement and transportation officials have long sought better technology for detection of blood alcohol levels.
Typical portable breath alcohol testers are unwieldy, can cost more than US$1,000 and do not provide ongoing monitoring of alcohol levels.
“The blood alcohol monitoring devices used in legal and medical circles are big and bulky, like a ball and chain for the ones using it,” BACtrack president Keith Nothacker said. “We wanted to make something people would want to wear.”
However, the device in its current form would not be a substitute for breathalyzers or blood tests used by law enforcement, because the device does not provide real-time blood-alcohol levels.
Nothacker said it takes about 45 minutes for ethanol to be transmitted through the skin, and that the device is designed to provide a recent history of alcohol use.
BACtrack has been experimenting with consumer-centric alcohol testing for several years. In 2013, it introduced the BACtrack Mobile Breathalyzer, which syncs with a smartphone to track blood alcohol content.
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