BACtrack Skyn wristband is a new wearable device that measures your blood alcohol levels through sweat on the skin. The invention of this device, made the personal and professional breathalyzers manufacturing company, emerge winner in the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism –NIAAA (www.niaaa.nih.gov) “Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge.
BACtrack received the $200,000(N40m) first prize award for its prototype, BACtrack Skyn. The device offers continuous, real-time, and non-invasive monitoring of a user’s TAC (Transdermal Alcohol Content). Alcohol is detected and measured with transdermal monitoring, which tracks the ethanol molecules escaping through the skin. TAC samples are then converted into a history of a user’s BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) with BACtrack’s proprietary algorithm.
BACtrack Skyn uses an electrochemical sensor and connects via Bluetooth to an app on a user’s smartphone.
BACtrack Skyn uses an electrochemical sensor and connects via Bluetooth to an app on a user’s smartphone.
“We are thrilled to win the Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge. We are excited to bring BACtrack Skyn to market to aid researchers and treatment providers in collecting more reliable data and ultimately, make advances in healthcare treatment,” said Keith Nothacker, President and CEO of BACtrack, in a press statement.
Nothacker added that the company wants to do for wearable alcohol monitors what they did for breath alcohol testers. Early on, breathalyzers were big and bulky and only available for law enforcement. BACtrack made breathalyzers low-cost, sleek, and a safety product
that anyone can and should use. We have the same vision for BACtrack Skyn, he explained.
According to the statement, “In addition to improving reliable data collection for researchers and clinicians, a wearable alcohol sensor can offer tremendous value to individuals tracking their own drinking habits. With BACtrack Skyn, a user can passively track alcohol consumption in real-time”.
There is no need for a user to take a breath alcohol test – their estimated BAC result is on their wrist, continuously. By syncing with an app on a smartphone or smartwatch, a user can get powerful and actionable data. For instance, a user’s phone could vibrate to notify them that they are approaching
0.04 %BAC and remind them to slow down their drinking, or in the case of sobriety monitoring, a family member could receive a notification when a user’s BAC has gone above 0.00 %BAC.
0.04 %BAC and remind them to slow down their drinking, or in the case of sobriety monitoring, a family member could receive a notification when a user’s BAC has gone above 0.00 %BAC.
The Challenge
The challenge (Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge) was organised to improve upon existing alcohol biosensor technology used in the criminal justice system and create an alternative for the alcohol research community, one that would decrease reliance upon participant self-reporting. Monitoring bracelets typically used in the criminal justice system are effective but cumbersome and have limited capabilities to estimate alcohol levels.
Participants in the challenge were required to deliver a working prototype and detailed written documentation.
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