The monitor, reported in the journal ACS Sensors, works quickly and can send results wirelessly to a smartphone or other device.
Recent research has demonstrated that sweat can be a more reliable real-time indicator of blood alcohol content.
At least two transdermal sensors have been developed to measure alcohol levels in sweat, but users have to wait up to 2 hours for results.
Joseph Wang, Patrick Mercier and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, set out to make a more practical version.
With temporary-tattoo paper, the researchers developed a patch that tests blood alcohol content non-invasively in three rapid steps.
It induces sweat by delivering a small amount of the drug pilocarpine across the skin.
An enzymatic reaction leads to the electrochemical detection of the alcohol content.
And a flexible electronic circuit board transmits the data via a Bluetooth connection to a mobile device or laptop.
The steps take less than 8 minutes from start to finish.
In addition to connecting to vehicles’ ignition interlock systems, the sensor could be a simple tool for bartenders, friends or law enforcement to use, the researchers say.
Source: Daily Mail
