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 BACtrack, a privately held medical device maker, took the $200,000
top prize in the 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.
Dr. 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 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.
Traditional portable breath alcohol testers (PBTs) are unwieldy and
can cost over $1,000, and they don't 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,” said Keith Nothacker, president of BACtrack. “We wanted to make
something people would want to wear."
The device in its current form will not, however, 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.
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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.
BACtrack beat seven other smaller companies to win the NIH
competition. Milo, a Santa Barbara based technology startup, won the
$100,000 second-place prize for its design of a wearable alcohol
content tracker that also uses a skin sensor and communicates with a
smartphone using wireless technology.
(Corrects third paragraph to show that the product has not been
submitted to regulators for approval, not that it is awaiting
approval and is expected to be on the market by year-end. And
corrects ninth paragraph to say it takes about 45 minutes for
ethanol to be transmitted through the skin, not for it to show up in
the blood)
(Reporting by Mir Ubaid; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Cynthia
Osterman)
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