Infrared Blood Alcohol Test [Edit]

Drink drivers could find themselves subjected to roadside blood tests in future. InLight Solutions, a US company that specialises in testing blood sugar levels in diabetics without needles, has developed a similar test for measuring blood alcohol.

The company’s device generates a beam of infrared (IR) radiation and channels this through optical fibres into a cradle designed to attach to a forearm. When a suspect’s arm is placed in the cradle, the infrared light penetrates to a depth of 5 millimetres and the reflected light is picked up by a bunch of IR sensors. The beam is constantly moved over the skin to avoid burning it.  (New Scientist Tech)