Non-invasive Alcohol Detection in Drivers
Our research is pursing new technological solutions to the seemingly unsolvable problem of drinking and driving.
Despite intensive anti-drunk driving campaigns, over 16,000 people still die annually in alcohol related traffic crashes. This toll is nearly 39% of all U.S. traffic fatalities.
One aggressive method to eliminate drunk driving, proposed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, would be to fit every highway vehicle with an ignition interlock. Cars with these devices would simply refuse to start if the driver had been drinking. Ideally, the device should be completely non-invasive: old technologies which involve breathing into a tube would not be acceptable.
One interesting possibility that we are pursuing takes advantage of the fact that approximately 1% of ingested alcohol diffuses out of the body through the skin. Our research to date has shown that there are challenges with this technology. Measurements taken at the skin can lag actual blood-alcohol concentration by 30 minutes or more.
Publications
- Webster, G.D. and Gabler, H.C. “Feasibility of Transdermal Ethanol Sensing for the Detection of Intoxicated Drivers”, 51st Annual Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, Melbourne, Australia (October 2007)
- Webster, G. and Gabler, H.C., “Assessment of Dermal Ethanol Emission Sensors: Experimental Design”, Proceedings of the 44th International ISA Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation Symposium (April 2007)
