Mobile health entrepreneur Robert Andrews thinks there’s a cheaper, faster way to test for intoxication than a breathalyzer. He wants employers and, eventually, officers, to go straight to the eyeball to monitor an involuntary reflexive response when intoxicated people shift their glance in their horizontal field of vision– called Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. He developed an app to detect the condition and a company along with it called BreathalEyes in 2011.
In an interview with MedCity News, Andrews talked about the work the company is doing to advance its app.
Although nystagmus is part of routine curbside tests for intoxication officer conduct, Andrews said the eye test could stand up on its merits. Its app estimates BAC levels but the company is looking at funding options to advance its development for FDA clearance.
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In the short term, it has a consumer version of its app for entertainment purposes rather than a substitute for self management. It is looking ahead to business partners in areas such as fleet management and workplace safety, according to Andrews.
The company, led by Holly Delaney, got just received patent approval for its app, Andrews told MedCity News in an interview. BreathalEyes took part in the Health Wildcatters acelerator last year after moving to Texas from its start in Nashville.
“Our goal is to be as accurate as the breathalyzer,” Andrews said. “We are ultimately concerned with safety and well being. We would love to work with the police to adopt our technology.”
There’s plenty of interest in breathalyzers beyond those administered by the police. Currently, breathalyzers that can be connected to a car’s ignition system, called ignition interlock devices, are put to use by states and consumers that want to avoid another DUI case and to minimize the public safety risk these offenders pose. They are generally set up so that drivers have to use them before they can start the car and can be set to the minimum each state requires for BAC levels. If they fail the test, then they can’t start the car.
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Many would like to see car manufacturers integrate these devices into cars themselves since that could also prevent people without a record from hitting the road when they’re legally drunk. Even though studies indicate that doing this could save loads of money, car manufacturers aren’t expected to adopt this capability for another five to eight years.
On the other hand, with more states reviewing marijuana legalization, driving while stoned presents a challenge as to how to rapidly test suspect drivers. That could offer opportunities for companies developing noninvasive, faster drug testing methods.
