GAINESVILLE, FL – Xhale Inc. has received a $1.8M SBIR Phase II grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the NIH to develop a next generation breath-based ethanol sensor.
Current devices used to measure breath ethanol rely on technologies that are several decades old and the results from these devices are becoming harder to defend in a court of law. Under this grant, Xhale will develop a portable, evidential breath-based ethanol monitor with superior detection capabilities.
According to the grant’s principal investigator, Richard Melker, M.D. Ph.D., “There is a tremendous need for testing equipment that can produce incontrovertible evidence of accurate quantitation of blood ethanol levels using breath-based technologies. Current commercial field breath analyzers have created this dilemma, because they are not able to produce truly irrefutable evidence.”
Due to harsher penalties, more people charged with drunk driving have decided to take their cases to court. Inaccuracy issues in current breath analyzers have resulted in an increased number of accused drunk drivers fighting and winning their cases.
“Using currently available technology, DUI acquittals are becoming more common when based on the limitations of the current breath analyzers. One key limitation used by defense attorneys is the issue of interferents in the driver’s blood and breath that can lead to inaccurate readings” states co-investigator, Donn Dennis, M.D., F.A.H.A.
“Many common personal hygiene, household, and industrial products contain compounds which can be inhaled or absorbed into the blood and later exhaled in the breath. These substances can interfere with the accuracy of current ethanol detectors in use today, and provide an all too common venue for DUI acquittals.”
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Tags: breathalizer, FL, Gainesville, NIH grant, Xhale
