New ‘tattoo’ skin patch measures alcohol levels

A team of researchers at University of California San Diego (UCSD) has designed a “temporary tattoo” with an electronic sensor that allows drinkers to measure their alcohol levels.

The new alcohol sensor skin patch could measure alcohol levels within 15 minutes

The UCSD researchers have created a wearable skin sensor that can accurately and quickly measure a person’s blood alcohol level from sweat and transmit the data wirelessly.

The tattoo releases a drug called pilocarpine, which generates sweat on the surface of the skin, allowing the device electrochemically detects the alcohol level. The portable electronic board then transmits the information to a mobile device via Bluetooth.

The device could be used by doctors and police officers for constant and real-time monitoring of blood alcohol content.

“What is also innovative about this technology is that the wearer does not need to be exercising or sweating already,” Patrick Mercier from UCSD told The Financial Express.

“The user can put on the patch and within a few minutes get a reading that is well correlated to his or her blood alcohol concentration. Such a device has not been available until now.”

Nine healthy volunteers wore the device on their arms before and after consuming alcohol, with the readouts accurately reflected the participants’ blood alcohol concentrations.

“On-body results with human subjects show distinct differences in the current response before and after alcohol consumption, reflecting the increase of ethanol levels,” according to the results published in the journal ACS Sensors.

Now, the UCSD researchers have developed an alcohol sensor that is wearable, portable and could accurately monitor alcohol level in sweat within 15 minutes.

Last year, students in India created a bike helmet with a built-in breathalyser, which works by using Bluetooth encryption to breathalyse the driver.