BIOINK CORPORATION — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: 450

Description

ABSTRACTLogicInk will design and develop a discretelow costwearable alcohol sensor that works via detection of ethanol in sweat and requires no power supplyThe wearable device will let users better understand the impact of their drinking habits on their bodyas reflected by alcohol concentration levels over timeThese discreteelectronics free wearables that resemble temporary tattoos will change color based on alcohol content in sweatThe color changes will be directly readable by the wearer requiring no additional equipmentIn parallelwe will develop computer vision algorithms that will detectrecordand interpret the wearable s colors in much greater detail for the userThese algorithms will serve as the basis for the development of a personalized mobile application that can track a usersalcohol consumption over timeApproximatelyof adults andof college students in the US have alcohol use disorderAUDand the economic burden of alcohol misuse is $billionAn alcohol impaired driver is a factor in over a third of all traffic related deathsA significant problem with alcohol consumption is that drinkersrecall of the amount consumed is pooras is judgment regarding the degree of impairmentThe LogicInk biosensor utilizes a novel concentration metric that grants users a better understanding of the impact of their drinking habits on their bodyas reflected by approximated transdermal alcohol levelsAdditionallythe optional coupling to a mobile phone application allows users to track and analyze values over timeA simpleaccurateand inexpensive method to approximate cumulative alcohol consumption is a promising strategy to raise alcohol consumption awareness across a wide user demographicThe concentration of ethanol in sweat is highly correlated with blood alcohol concentrationsBACsand has been used in many transdermal BAC devicesWe will test the hypothesis that the biosensor can approximate blood alcohol levels and the amount of alcohol consumed since applying the sensorWe will have two aims in this proposalAimDesign and characterization of a cumulative alcohol biosensorand AimDevelopment and training of computer vision algorithms that will be used to track cumulative alcohol levels PROJECT NARRATIVELogicInk is developing a discretelow costwearable alcohol sensor that works via detection of ethanol in sweat and requires no power supplyOur wearable device will let users better understand the impact of their drinking habits on their bodyas reflected by easily interpreted color changes correlated to blood alcohol concentration levels over timeUltimatelywe expect this device will result in users drinking more moderatelyreducing the many adverse effects from excessive alcohol consumption