Wearable Noninvasive Blood Alcohol Monitor

Project Summary Abstract The goal of this proposed NIH SBIR Phase II program will be to continue development and commercialization of a new noninvasive transdermal alcohol monitorThe monitor will be in wristband or watch formsimilar to a smartwatchThis device will be modernattractive and comfortable and will have smartwatch features including measuring key physiological parameterse gpulsewith wireless communication to apps on smartphones and other devicesThe aim of the work is to provide a newnoninvasive transdermal alcohol monitor into the marketThe transdermal alcohol monitoring market has few wearable products available and innovation has been lacking in this fieldThis new product will take advantage of current trends in wearable technologyAs the public becomes more comfortable with wearablesthe blood alcohol monitor will become popular with people interested in health and fitness who want to track their alcohol intakeThe product will provide a newhighly reliable and sensitive method for tracking blood alcohol which will eventually be adopted in other areasincluding clinical and medical treatment and employee wellness programsThe device is expected also to provide a more effective system than is currently available for alcohol researchThe monitor is based on the KWJ Engineering s printed electrochemical gas sensorThis ethanol sensor is very smallultralow power and highly sensitive with very low interferencesThese characteristics provide a sensor that is more effective than those used in current technologiesAdditionallybecause of its size and power requirementsit is the only gas sensor available that is compatible with modern applications such as the watch format of this proposalIn Phase Iwe demonstrated stable and sensitive measurement of ethanol across human skin surrogate membranes with a first prototype wristwatch device that included the ethanol sensor and circuitry for performing the measurement and converting data for wireless communication to a computerRaw transdermal ethanol concentrationsTACwere calibrated to blood alcohol values using standardized ethanol solutions as a surrogate for blood alcohol concentrationBACWe demonstrated a high degree of reproducibility across several watch format devicesIn Phase IIdevelopment of the device will be continued in collaboration with partners specializing in wearable systems and product developmentA small human trial will be conducted to evaluate the wearability and functionality of the Phase II prototype device