Smart Wearable Flex-circuit for Continuous Transdermal Alcohol Monitoring

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Seacoast Science, Inc. is proposing to develop, certify, and then commercialize comfort- wear, non-invasive monitors that predict physiological alcohol impairment in humans based on transdermal ethanol measurements. Using best-practice miniaturization methods, we will build the monitors into clothing, arm bracelets, pendants or decorative accessories. Such monitors will have immediate application in the effort to combat alcohol misuse. These monitors are based on catalytic alcohol sensors that have proven to be reliable in breathalyzers. The work leverages Seacoast's experience in designing alcohol detectors for various applications along with work embedding sensors in articles of clothing. Impact: Alcohol abuse and impairment cause significant damage to lives and property in the US and globally. The Centers for Disease Control published a report that alcohol abuse in the United States caused 88,000 deaths and resulted in $223.5 billion financial cost for 2006. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported 10,076 fatalities in alcohol- involved motor vehicle crashes in 2013. Worldwide, the World Health Organization reports 3.3 million deaths every year resulting from alcohol abuse, representing 5.9 % of all deaths. Overall 5.1 % of the global burden of disease and injury is attributable to alcohol, as measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Alcohol consumption causes death and disability relatively early in life. In the age group 20 - 39 years, approximately 25 % of the total deaths ar alcohol-attributable.