Temporary tattoo to monitor alcohol intake

Source: the drinks business
by Steven Green
28th July, 2016

A new piece of technology that clings to the skin will monitor your alcohol intake and report the results back to your smartphone.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego have created a wearable electronic board, which ‘clings to the skin like a temporary tattoo’ to help revellers keep an eye on their intake on a night out by reading the level of alcohol in the sweat.

Patrick Mercier, an electrical and computer engineering professor behind the project, explains that blood alcohol concentration is the most accurate way to measure how inebriated somebody is, though that method can be invasive, while he goes on to explain that breathalysers are often too easy to fool.

The technology come in two parts, with a temporary tattoo that clings to the skin and a flexible electronic board that attaches magnetically to the tattoo, controls the sensing operation. Spectrum then report that it sends the data via bluetooth to your mobile phone.

However, he feels that wearable technology could be the easiest way for police, bartenders, and college students to keep tabs on their alcohol intake, while it would also provide doctors and scientists with a reliable way of collecting the data for future studies.

Of course, this isn’t the first piece of wearable technology to hit the market recently, with the creation of the BACtrack skyn being announced earlier in the month. Thew BACtrack is a wristband that performs a similar function to the temporary tattoo.

However while the tattoo has been designed to be disposable, the wristband can be used over and again.

“Right now, the tattoo is designed for one-time use,” Mercier said. “Place, detect, dispose.”

https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/07/temporary-tattoo-to-monitor-alcohol-intake/