PERFORMANCE DETECTION OF ALCOHOL IMPAIRMENT

本项目将开发一个独立的便携式测试系统， 评估个人在工作场所的表现， 因酒精而受损。测试单元将基于可编程 微控制器技术，并将测量警惕注意力和 反应时间性能这些职能领域可能受到损害， 是酒精事故风险增加的主要原因 工作场所的滥用和滥用。能够有效地检测这种 残疾有可能为社会节省大量资金， 在经济和人力成本上。经济成本已经估算 在美国，每年高达800亿美元，因此，即使是一个小的 减少意外率是值得的。 该项目将采用现有的软件和硬件组件， 在标准的个人电脑上运行，并将这些集成到一个 小型、独立、便携式测试装置。任务学习和 与基线性能的收敛性，日间重测稳定性，以及 将在正常受试者中研究乙醇的性能影响， 最好的多变量判别函数模型将开发 作为测试系统的评估算法。关键的概念是 比较个人与他们自己的基线表现模式， 以最大限度地提高评估的准确性。对个人的评估 需要2-3分钟，提供即时反馈，通常不需要 被认为是对隐私的侵犯，与尿液检测相反， 在几个方面有问题。

This project will develop a self-contained portable testing system for the purpose of assessing individual performance in the workplace to detect impairment due to alcohol. The testing units will be based on programmable microcontroller technology, and will measure vigilance attention and reaction time performance. Impairment in these areas of function is likely to be the major reason for the increased risk of accidents from alcohol misuse and abuse in the workplace. Being able to efficiently detect such impairments has the potential to produce significant savings for society, both in economic and human costs. The economic costs have been estimated as high as $80 billion per year in the United States, so that even a small reduction in accident rate would be worthwhile. The project will take existing software and hardware components, currently operating on standard personal computers, and integrate these into a small, self-contained, portable testing unit. Task learning and convergence to baseline performance, day to day test-retest stability, and performance effects of ethanol will be studied in normal subjects, and a best possible multivariable discriminant function model will be developed to use as the testing system assessment algorithm. The key concept is comparison of individuals to their own baseline performance patterns in order to maximize accuracy of assessment. The assessment of individuals requires 2-3 minutes, provides immediate feedback, and is generally not considered an invasion of privacy, in contrast to urine testing, which is problematic in several respects.