Flexible skin patch shows benefits in alcohol monitoring

US engineers have developed a flexible wearable sensor that can accurately measure a person's blood alcohol level.

Created by a team from the University of California – San Diego, the innovative device can be worn on the skin and could be used by doctors and police officers for continuous, non-invasive and real-time monitoring of blood alcohol content.

It consists of a temporary tattoo that attaches to the skin, induces sweat and electrochemically detects alcohol level in the bloodstream, as well as a magnetically-attached flexible electronic circuit board that communicates with mobile devices via Bluetooth.

The sensor has the capability of accurately monitoring alcohol levels in sweat within 15 minutes and does not require the user to be exercising or sweaty already.

The university's electrical engineering professor Patrick Mercier said: "The user can put on the patch and within a few minutes get a reading that's well correlated to his or her blood alcohol concentration. Such a device hasn't been available until now."

Efforts will now be made to create an upgraded device that can continuously monitor alcohol levels for 24 hours.