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Calibration Study of a Blood Alcohol Level Smart Watch

Calibration Study of a Wearable Noninvasive Blood Alcohol Monitor

Status
Terminated
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03574181
Enrollment
9
Registered
2018-06-29
Start date
2019-07-08
Completion date
2020-02-17
Last updated
2021-02-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Keywords

Wrist watch blood alcohol level, Blood alcohol, Objective alcohol measure

Brief summary

This trial is designed to test the accuracy of a wristwatch blood alcohol level monitor relative to alcohol breath testing. An established human laboratory self-administration procedure will be followed. Each subject will complete 2 clinic visits over a period of up to 21 days of participation. Study participation is comprised of a baseline assessment to determine eligibility and an alcohol self-administration trial to test the accuracy of the wrist watch blood alcohol level. Subjects will be recruited in two phases of 9 subjects each. The first phase will be conducted to validate a prototype of the wrist watch. The second phase will be conducted to validate a pre-production consumer model of the blood alcohol wrist watch.

Detailed description

In this proposed study, the objective is to further demonstrate the reliability of this printed electrochemical gas sensor in the form of a wearable device. This demonstration of reliability among human subjects is an essential part of product development. The monitor will be in a wristband or watch form, similar to a smart watch. This device will be modern, attractive and comfortable. It will also have smart watch features including measuring key physiological parameters (e.g., pulse) and eventually will have connectivity to apps on smart phones and other devices. The aim of the work is to provide a new, noninvasive transdermal alcohol monitor into the market. The transdermal alcohol monitoring market has few wearable products available and innovation has been lacking in this field. This new product will take advantage of current trends in wearable technology. As the public becomes more comfortable with wearable sensors, the blood alcohol monitor will become popular with people interested in health and fitness who want to track their alcohol intake. The product will provide a new, highly reliable and sensitive method for tracking blood alcohol level. This may be particularly beneficial to individuals who seek to reduce the risk of alcohol use by limiting peak blood alcohol level. If successful, this technology could be adopted in many areas including clinical and medical treatment, employee wellness programs, alcohol clinical trials, and as part of brief interventions that target at-risk drinkers. The specific objective of this study is to determine whether the printed electrochemical gas sensor designed to measure blood alcohol level will be sensitive and reliable when compared to a standard measure of blood alcohol level taken by a breathalyzer. If this sensor proves sensitive to changes in blood alcohol level and can reliably measure blood alcohol level relative to a gold standard method, there are significant opportunities to use this technology in consumer health applications and clinical research.

Interventions

OTHERSmartwatch to measure Blood Alcohol Level (BAL)

Subjects will wear a wristwatch with a sensor that measures blood alcohol level during a 1-hour period of consuming alcohol followed by a 5 hour observation period.

Sponsors

KWJ Engineering
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
CollaboratorNIH
Boston Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. 21-55 years of age. 2. Can provide proof of age with state or federal picture Identification. 3. Consumes an average of ≥7 standard drinks per week (women) or ≥14 drinks per week (men) over the 28 days prior to consent. 4. Has consumed at least 4 standard drinks on a single day on at least two days in the past 28 days prior to consent. 5. Has a blood alcohol level = 0.000 at time of consent. 6. Is able to understand and provide written informed consent. 7. Body weight ≥ 120 lbs and ≤ 250 pounds 8. Subjects can speak and understand English

Exclusion criteria

1. Currently seeking treatment for alcohol problems or purposefully abstaining from alcohol in an attempt to cut back or quit drinking. 2. Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment at ≥10. 3. Meets DSM-5 diagnosis of current major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, bulimia/anorexia, dementia, or a substance use disorder other than alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, or caffeine 4. If female, pregnant or nursing. 5. If female, does not agree to use an accepted form of birth control 6. Has medical or mental condition for which further alcohol exposure at the planned dose range would be contraindicated. 7. Taking medication for which drinking would be contraindicated. 8. Clinically significant abnormal ECG. 9. AST or ALT ≥ 3x the upper limit of normal. 10. Current risk of suicidality. 11. Has taken medications that are used to treat AUD in the past 90 days. 12. Has received alcohol counseling or other non-pharmacologic intervention to treat alcohol use disorder in the past 90 days. 13. Has urine toxicology results positive for cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, buprenorphine, methadone, or methamphetamines. 14. Smokes greater than 5 cigarettes per day. 15. Unable to comfortably abstain from nicotine for a period of 8 hours. 16. Wearing cologne, perfume, aftershave or any other scented oil or alcohol-based beauty product on the day of the Alcohol Lab Visit. 17. Has dietary restrictions that would preclude participating.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Correlation Between Breathalyzer and Wristwatch Sensor BAL Measurements6 hours during alcohol self administration trialWristwatch sensor BAL is continuously measured for entirety of 6-hour alcohol self administration trial. BAL from breathalyzer (BrAC) is measured at 15-minute intervals throughout 6-hour alcohol self administration trial. The correlation between wristwatch transdermal BAL (TAC) and breathalyzer BAL (BrAC) for all subjects will be calculated.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Transdermal Alcohol Sensor
All eligible subjects consume two mixed drinks calibrated to raise their blood alcohol level to 0.05 g/dL over 60 minutes. Subjects are fitted with a transdermal alcohol sensor on each wrist. Breathalyzer measurements are taken every 15 minutes for a period of five hours following consumption of alcohol.
9
Total9

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicTransdermal Alcohol Sensor
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
9 Participants
Age, Continuous38 years
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
1 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
7 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
1 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
9 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
8 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 9
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 9
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 9

Outcome results

Primary

Correlation Between Breathalyzer and Wristwatch Sensor BAL Measurements

Wristwatch sensor BAL is continuously measured for entirety of 6-hour alcohol self administration trial. BAL from breathalyzer (BrAC) is measured at 15-minute intervals throughout 6-hour alcohol self administration trial. The correlation between wristwatch transdermal BAL (TAC) and breathalyzer BAL (BrAC) for all subjects will be calculated.

Time frame: 6 hours during alcohol self administration trial

Population: 6 of 9 participants were included in data analyses. Three participants were excluded from analyses due to inability to obtain TAC data from wristwatches during alcohol self administration trials.

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Transdermal Alcohol SensorCorrelation Between Breathalyzer and Wristwatch Sensor BAL Measurements0.3183 coefficient of determination (R^2)

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026