Researchers Have Invented A Breathalyzer To Measure Blood Sugar
Researchers are creating a minimally invasive breathalyzer to use acetone levels in breath to measure blood sugar levels. This news comes from Western New England University where researchers have created a small handheld device for people with diabetes that uses a minimally invasive breathalyzer to use acetone levels in breath to measure blood sugar. This information was presented this month in Denver, Colorado at the 2016 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting and Exposition. Finger Stick Testing Needs an Alternative The EurekAlert! press release states that “as many as 67 percent of people with diabetes may not comply [with finger stick testing] because it is invasive and somewhat painful” and yet blood sugar testing is the way to keep track of blood sugar levels including dangerous lows and highs that may require immediate attention and treatment. For those asked by their physicians to test blood sugar levels, not doing so can mean a faster path to diabetes complications, particularly since doctors rely on daily blood sugar level data in order to make successful medication and lifestyle recommendations and adjustments. Ronny Priefer, Ph.D., one of the co-developers of the device said, “We believe this technology will be a great improvement in the lives of people with diabetes,” and that “It is the first non-invasive medical device for detecting and monitoring diabetes by connecting one’s acetone levels with their blood glucose. We believe it is a necessary alternative to the finger-prick approach for people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.” Priefer and his partner Michael Rust, Ph.D. have together created this device, which is the size of a small book to provide people with diabetes who need to monitor their blood sugar Continue reading >>
Hypoglycemia, Diabetes, And Blood Alcohol Tests
It has been found that diabetes and hypoglycemia can be related to accidents and errors on today's road. Even more common, are unjustified DWI and DUI arrests concerning patterns normally associated with a drunk driver. In a healthy individual, blood glucose (blood sugar) will be from 70 to 120 mg/dl. When blood glucose rises above 120 mg/dl and there is no insulin present, diabetes occurs. Insulin is a hormone controlled by your pancreas that is required to digest and keep a blood sugar balance. If blood glucose decreases to 60 mg/dl or lower, hypoglycemia will occur. Four different forms of diabetes exist, each with its own treatment. The first, Type 1, is typically diagnosed in children with juvenile onset diabetes. Although less common, it is possible for adults to be diagnosed (refer to www.diabetes.org). With Type 1, insulin must be injected into the body because the pancreas fails to produce any insulin at all; leaving it to be the most dangerous of the four types. With Type 2 diabetes, the body can create insulin, but not enough. The body is also resistant to the insulin and does not make use of it in the right way. For Type 2, the treatments include a new diet, exercise, and, on occasion, insulin tablets. Gestational Diabetes and Pre-diabetes are the last of the four types. Gestational Diabetes is most commonly temporary, and is diagnosed during pregnancy. Pre-diabetes occurs when the blood sugar is higher than usual, but still not at the level of Type 2 diabetes. The reason this is all very pertinent is because the symptoms caused by diabetes or hypoglycemia can all too easily be confused with an intoxicated individual. And, while these symptoms are typically seen in a diabetic or hypoglycemic, they can also be seen in a non-diabetic individual. If a person is Continue reading >>
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The Apple Dwi Defense
Newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported last week Marek Latas, a Polish lawmaker, was pulled over for a DWI. The legal blood alcohol content limit in Poland is 0.2 units. Latas was pulled over with a blood alcohol content of 0.7 units. I have no idea how units translate to the US blood alcohol content percentages, never less, it is clear by just comparing the numbers, he was drunk. I have been involved in no accident, I underwent a routine roadside check. I was confident there was no chance I had alcohol in my blood, said Latas, a member of parliament for the conservative opposition Law and Justice Party. Of course since Im writing about this, you know he had a pretty interesting excuse for his intoxication. A couple apples in fact. That was his excuse and his defense. The politician denies having any alcohol earlier in the day. Can apples make a diabetic person seem drunk? Does an apple a day keep the DWI check away? Heres the kicker. My first thought was this guy is full of cider. Turns out a diabetic can give a false positive. The reason is a breathalyzer doesnt really detect alcohol. The breathalyzer detects any molecules in the methyl group. If there is a large amount detected, the assumption is the breathalyzer is detecting alcohol (ethanol). Another chemical which shows as a positive is acetone. Its not too common to have acetones on your breath, unless you have ketoacidosis. According to wikipedia, ketoacidosis is a type of metabolic acidosis which is caused by high concentrations of ketone bodies. Ketoacidosis makes your breath smell like fruit or nail polish remover. Why is this important? Ketoacidosis is a known symptom of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. This is the tie to diabetes. Hypoglycemia is common for people with diabetes. Someone who is hypoglycemic wi Continue reading >>
Dui Or Diabetes?
Was that person arrested for drunk driving truly under the influence of alcohol—or could it be that he was simply a diabetic having a low? The similarity in symptoms caused by alcohol intoxication and low blood glucose levels is striking and commonly leads to easy—but false—conclusions by law enforcement officers. Diabetes is a very common disease in America. Fifteen to 20 percent of all drivers on the road are diabetics. The reactions of a person in the early stages of a low blood glucose attack include dizziness, blurred vision, slurred speech, weakness, loss of coordination and confusion. Coincidentally, these are the symptoms and signs that the patrol officer is looking for in a person who is driving under the influence of alcohol. And the officer’s observations are quickly followed by a failing performance on DUI field sobriety tests. But a Breathalyzer Will Clear a Diabetic, Right? Wrong. Ignoring for the moment the inherent inaccuracy of these breath-alcohol machines, most suffer from a little-known design defect—they do not actually measure the alcohol in the blood. Rather, they use infrared beams of light. The light beams are absorbed by any chemical compound in the breath sample (including ethyl alcohol) that contains the “methyl group” in its molecular structure. The more absorption, the higher the blood-alcohol reading. The machine is programmed to assume that the compound is “probably” alcohol. Unfortunately, thousands of compounds containing the methyl group can register as alcohol. One of these is acetone. And a well-documented byproduct of hyperglycemia is a state called ketoacidosis, which causes the production of acetones in the breath. In other words, the Breathalyzer will read significant levels of alcohol on a diabetic’s breath, Continue reading >>
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Challenging Bac Results From A Breathalyzer
Challenging BAC Results From a Breathalyzer If you have been stopped by law enforcement personnel while driving and have failed or refused to take their field sobriety tests, you will next be required to have your blood alcohol level, known as BAC, tested. Most officers like to start with the breathalyzer, which supposedly measures the level of alcohol in your bloodstream by using your breath as a sample. This is an easy testing method for officers because it requires almost no work on their part. The test can be performed on the side of the road and generally only takes a minute or two to perform. It should be noted that a breathalyzer does not measure the actual level of alcohol in the bloodstream. Instead, it estimates the number by using a series of formulas and your breath. While desktop analyzers that use infrared spectrophotometers do exist, chances are that you would have been tested using a handheld field testing device. The breathalyzer test is performed in three simple steps. First, a mouthpiece is attached to the breathalyzer before it is turned on. Next, officers will wait for the unit to warm up and display the instruction to blow. You will then be asked to blow into the device for approximately four seconds while the device beeps. Finally, the device will display what it believes to be your BAC. Most law enforcement officers and members of juries take the results of a breath test as unalterably accurate and believe that if the breathalyzer showed the BAC to be over 0.08% then the individual is guilty of a DUI. Breathalyzers certainly are more scientific than field sobriety tests are. This is due to the fact that they display objective data rather than subjective data taken from what the law enforcement officer believes he or she is seeing or hearing. How Continue reading >>
Phoenix Copwatch - Police News
How You Breath Into the Breathalyzer Affects the Results Previous topic: DUI License Suspensions: Guilty Until Proven Innocent Next topic: How You Breath Into the Breathalyzer Affects the Results topic started 8/31/2005; 6:08:45 AMlast post 8/31/2005; 6:08:45 AM Lawrence Taylor - How You Breath Into the Breathalyzer Affects the Results 8/31/2005; 3:08:45 AM (reads: 784, responses: 0) How You Breath Into the Breathalyzer Affects the ResultsAs Ive indicated with numerous examples in earlier posts, these breath machines which determine guilt or innocence in drunk driving cases are not exactly the reliable devices that law enforcement would have us believe. Yet another example of that unreliability is the fact that the results will vary depending upon the breathing pattern of the person being tested. This has been confirmed in a number of scientific studies. In one, for example, a group of men drank moderate doses of alcohol and their blood-alcohol levels were then measured by gas chromatographic analysis of their breath. The breathing techniques were then varied. The results indicated that holding your breath for 30 seconds before exhaling increased the blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) by 15.7%. Hyperventilating for 20 seconds immediately before the analyses of breath, on the other hand, decreased the blood-alcohol level by 10.6%. Keeping the mouth closed for five minutes and using shallow nasal breathing resulted in increasing the BAC by 7.3%, and testing after a slow, 20-second exhalation increased levels by 2%. "How Breathing Techniques Can Influence the Results of Breath-Alcohol Analyses", 22(4) Medical Science and the Law 275. For another study with similar findings, see "Accurate Measurement of Blood Alcohol Concentration with Isothermal Breathing", 51(1) Journal o Continue reading >>
An Assessment Of Falsely Convicted Type 1 Diabetics In Jamaica By Using The Breathalyzer Test
Original article / research Year : 2011 | Month : June | Volume : 5 | Issue : 3 | Page : 448 - 451 Independent Health Policy Consultant, Christiana P.O., Manchester, Jamaica, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica Department of Paraclinical Sciences, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Correspondence Address : Tazhmoye V. Crawford Email: [email protected] Tel: (876).362.3628 Abstract Objective: The close similarity between the symptoms of alcohol intoxication and low blood glucose levels makes it difficult for breathalyzers to make the distinction between a diabetic and an individual who is driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or driving while intoxicated (DWI). In Jamaica, it is illegal if a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is ≥ 35 microgram per 100 milliliter of breath on the breathalyzer and the intoxilyzer devices. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which the breathalyzer test provided false blood alcohol measurements in persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Design: The purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to collect information from motorists who were accused and charged by the police for DUI/DWI. Data was collected during the period from 2007-2009, from respondents at the St. Andrew Traffic Court, at their work stations and other convenient locations. The data were stored and analyzed by using SPSS version 17.0. Results: Of the 53 respondents, 73.6% were of type 1 diabetes mellitus status and 53.8% were those who were suspected by the police to be DUI/DWI and hence, the breathalyzer test resulted in 42.9% of the respondents showing a reading of ≥ 35 microgram per 100 millilitre of breath. The findings showed a correlation (χ² = 0.75) between the Continue reading >>
New Acetone Breathalyzer May Replace Blood Glucose Testing For Managing Diabetes
Having the ability to check glucose levels without taking a blood sample would transform diabetes care and improve the lives of people living with the disease. One way of doing this is to measure the concentration of acetone in exhaled breath, which is a biomarker that indicates how much glucose is in the person’s blood. Researchers at Western New England University have developed a unique technology that may finally make this possible in a portable and affordable device. We spoke with Dr. Ronny Priefer of the university’s Department of Pharmaceutical & Administrative Sciences, one of the principal scientists that worked on this technology, to explain how their acetone breathalyzer works. The basic problem with accurately gauging acetone in breath is that there is considerably more water in each sample than acetone. There are only a few parts per billion of acetone within the 100% humidity of our breath, so most previous attempts at creating acetone breathalyzers have focused on filtering the water out. This is more difficult than it sounds if you want to preserve acetone while systematically removing all water from a sample, and so we haven’t actually seen such a device make it to market. There is also a good deal of isoprene that we exhale, but since its boiling point is low it evaporates on its own and doesn’t create its own challenge. Avoiding the process of removing water from the sample, Dr. Priefer’s team took a completely different approach and actually used the water as an activation agent for their sensor. The technology consists of alternating layers of polymers that swell up when humid air is introduced to them. The polymer layers are designed so that their swelling allows acetone to penetrate, leading the polymers to cross-link and create bridges Continue reading >>
Anonymous Question - Type 1. One Drink Hours Before Still Over The Limit? | Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community
Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Join the community Anonymous Question Type 1. One drink hours before still over the limit? Anonymous Question Other Diabetes Team Member My type 1 diabetic son was stopped by the police during the week. He had one drink hours before being stopped but has registered as being way over the limit. Could anyone please advise Well you are breathalyzed at the scene and if a positive test is given they read you your rights and you are arrested and taken to the station where you blow into the much more accurate machine which gives a digital readout. What was the digital readout? Sounds like one drink too many, the alcohol limit in Scotland is much lower than the rest of the UK so if this where your son was stopped then that may explain things. Best bet is never drink & drive, it's just not worth it. JohnEGreen Type 2 (in remission!) Expert Ignoring for the moment the inherent inaccuracy and unreliability of these machines, most suffer from a little-known design defect: they do not actually measure alcohol! Rather, they use infrared beams of light which are absorbed by any chemical compound (including ethyl alcohol) in the breath which contains the "methyl group" in its molecular structure; the more absorption, the higher the blood-alcohol reading. The machine is programmed to assume that the compound is "probably" alcohol. Unfortunately, thousands of compounds containing the methyl group can register as alcohol. One of these is "acetone". And a well-documented by-product of hyperglycemia is a state of DKA or "Diabetic Ketoacidosis", which causes the production of acetones in the breath. In other words, the Breathalyzer will read significant blood alcohol levels on the breath whe Continue reading >>
The Clinical Potential Of Exhaled Breath Analysis For Diabetes Mellitus
Go to: A. Background A.1. Introduction to Breath Analysis Breath analysis has long been recognized as a potentially powerful tool for the diagnosis and study of medical diseases. Even in ancient times, physicians recognized that certain breath odors were associated with specific pathological states. For instance, renal failure became associated with a ‘fishy’ smell and diabetes with a ‘fruity’ smell. In the 19th century, Nebelthau found acetone in the breath of diabetics, and Anstie that exhaled ethanol was a byproduct of alcohol metabolism. Yet the complexity of exhaled gas composition was largely undefined until 1971, when Linus Pauling systematically used gas chromatography to reveal ~250 gases in human breath[1]. In more recent times, scientists have been able to detect >3000 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other aerosolized particles in the breath milieu[2, 3]. Further advances have led to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for breath-based diagnosis of alcohol intoxication, asthma, heart transplant rejection, Helicobacter pylori infection, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, and lactose intolerance[4]. Diabetes and its related dysmetabolic states could clearly greatly benefit from the introduction of similar non-invasive tests for diagnostic, preventive and monitoring purposes too. While such tests unfortunately remain currently unavailable, considerable interest has been geared in this direction recently, raising expectations that a breath test for plasma glucose, and possibly parallel tests for plasma insulin and lipids, may become clinically available within a few years. In this article, we review the basics of breath gas physiology and analysis as applied to diabetes mellitus as well as its possible future clinical applicat Continue reading >>
(pdf) Syracuse Journal Of Science & Technology Law Alcohol Breath Testing: Is There Reasonable Doubt?
SYRACUSE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LAW Early research in the late 20th century showed alcohol was present in the breath of individuals who were intoxicated.6 This seminal observation has led to over a century of work aimed at demonstrating the correlation between breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) and BAC that could be used for non-invasive alcohol testing. Correlating BrAC and BAC was not as straightforward as originally anticipated, but eventually in the 1950s, the ABT was created to quantify the BrAC of an individual. However, this instrument was based on a very simple understanding of the relationship between BAC to BrAC, and there would be disagreement about In 1927, Emil Bogen published a seminal report in the Journal of Medical Association,7 documenting one of the earliest attempts to measure BrAC in the scientific literature. Bogen designed an experiment to quantify the BrAC by using the redox reaction of potassium dichromate and ethanol found in the breath. He collected breath samples in a football-shaped balloon apparatus for analysis. He then bubbled this air through a hot solution of acidic potassium dichromate. Alcohol-positive samples produced a color change in the dichromate solution from orange to green. By comparing the color change to a series of standard solutions, Bogen was able to determine a crude BAC using breath analysis. His findings found that BAC and BrAC were related by a rough 1 to 20007 these ideas were improved and developed further shortly thereafter and published by Liljestrand and Linde.8 The next progress in the development of the an actual breath testing device, all of which are referred to as Breathalyzers for purposes of this paper and ease of reference, came in 1938, when Rolla N. Harger9 et al. developed a procedure he bel Continue reading >>
Toward A Hand-held ‘breathalyzer’ For Diagnosing Diabetes
“Portable Device for Measuring Breath Acetone Based on Sample Preconcentration and Cavity Enhanced Spectroscopy” Analytical Chemistry For several years, scientists have been working toward “breathalyzers” that can diagnose various diseases without painful pinpricks, needles or other unpleasant methods. Now, one team has developed a new, portable breath analyzer that could someday help doctors diagnose diabetes noninvasively in the office. The report appears in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry. Many studies examining the hallmarks of diabetes in exhaled breath have shown that elevated levels of acetone are strongly linked to diabetes. Detecting the concentrations of any given substance in breath in a simple way, however, is a major challenge. Breath contains a complex mix of compounds, including water, carbon dioxide and methane, that can throw results off. Mass spectrometry can do the job, but it’s not very practical for point-of-care testing. Robert Peverall and colleagues wanted to fill that void. The researchers created a hand-held device with an adsorbent polymer that can trap acetone from exhaled breath, then release it into a cavity where a laser probes its concentration. They tested the accuracy of the device on the breath of healthy subjects under different conditions, such as after overnight fasting or exercising, and compared results with mass spectrometry readings. The measurements were a close match and covered a wide range of concentrations, including those that would suggest a patient has undiagnosed type-1 diabetes, or has problems controlling their blood glucose. Adding to the practicality of the device, the researchers say it could be re-used many times. Continue reading >>
Anderson V. State | Findlaw
Robert Olaf ANDERSON, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). Before KITE, C.J., and VOIGT,*BURKE, and DAVIS, JJ, and JAMES, D.J.Representing Appellant: Office of the State Public Defender: Diane M. Lozano, State Public Defender; Tina N. Olson, Chief Appellate Counsel; Kirk A. Morgan, Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel. Argument by Mr. Morgan. Representing Appellee: Peter K. Michael, Wyoming Attorney General; David L. Delicath, Deputy Attorney General; Jeffrey S. Pope, Assistant Attorney General. Argument by Mr. Pope. [ 1] A jury convicted the appellant of felony driving while under the influence of alcohol. He now challenges two rulings of the district courtone concerning discovery and one concerning the admissibility of evidenceand also alleges his trial counsel was ineffective. Finding no error, we affirm. [ 2] 1. Did the district court abuse its discretion by denying in part the appellant's pretrial Request for IntoxNet Database Pursuant to W.S. 316105(e) and Proof of Compliance with Statutory Predicate for Admission of a Chemical Test Result Under W.S. 316105(a) ? 2. Did plain error occur, in the form of a violation of the appellant's constitutional right to confrontation, when the State's expert witness testified as to the operation, maintenance, and accuracy of the breath alcohol test machine used in this case? 3. Was the appellant's trial counsel ineffective in not calling an expert witness to testify as to the effect of diabetes on the results of a breath alcohol test? [ 3] The underlying facts of the traffic stop and arrest are not particularly material in this case. Suffice it to say that, upon receiving a REDDI 1 report, a Laramie police officer investigated and eventually arrested the appellant for per se driving while under t Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Dui - Dui News Blog
Posted by: Lawrence Taylor February 25, 2016 in California DUI News Leave a comment Contrary to popular belief, police officers have no inherent skill and little training in detecting levels of intoxication. In fact, they are psychologically predisposed in a drunk driving investigation to see what they expect to see, disregarding any alternative explanations. Lets take a look at one of those possibilities..As everyone knows, diabetics commonly experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels). And what are the symptoms? Slow and slurred speech, poor balance, impaired motor control, staggering, drowsiness, flushed face, disorientation in other words, the classic symptoms of alcohol intoxication. The diabetic will look and act like a drunk driver to the officer, and will certainly fail any DUI field sobriety tests. As one expert has observed: Hypoglycemia (abnormally low levels of blood glucose) is frequently seen in connection with driving error on this nations roads and highwaysEven more frequent are unjustified DUIs or DWIs, stemming from hypoglycemic symptoms that can closely mimic those of a drunk driver. Hypoglycemia: Driving Under the Influence, 8(1)Medical and Toxicological Information Review Sept. 2003. But, of course, a breathalyzer will clear him, right? Wrong. Ignoring for the moment the inherent inaccuracy and unreliability of these machines, most suffer from a little-known design defect: they do not actually measure alcohol! Rather, they use infrared beams of light which are absorbed by any chemical compound (including ethyl alcohol) in the breath which contains the methyl group in its molecular structure; the more absorption, the higher the blood-alcohol reading. The machine is programmed to assume that the compound is probably alcohol. Unfortunately, thous Continue reading >>
Keytosis -doctors Lounge(tm)
My questions are in regards to type 1 diabetes . Is it possible that a type 1 diabetic when asked to do a breathalyzer to blow higher than his/her true BAC if he or she is an out of control diabetic? will the KEYTOSIS give off an acetone? There have been several studies of the accuracy of breathalyzers in situations such as diabetes . Most of the studies suggest that breathalyzers are not accurate in the presence of significant ketosis because the exhaled acetone (one of the ketones produced in ketosis) can interfere with the test. If there were concern, the best thing would be to test a blood alcohol level directly. This will specifically measure ethanol and not acetone. Dr. you mention several studies into ketosis and breathalyzer results. My son is a Type I diabetic and was recently stopped for a non moving violation and arrested for DWI...he told them he was diabetic and needed to check his blood sugar ,that he was feeling "high". They denied him access to his meter or insulin , both were in his car. He was given a breath test that showed he exceeded the legal limit. An hour later an ambulance was called to the PD and his BS was 315. His breath smelled strongly of ketosis. He had not had anything to drink for over 12 hours and had slept since then. As you might guess we are VERY interested in these studies you referred to. Where can I find them? Your information would really help a scared young man and worried father. thanks. There are really a lot of studies into the effect of ketosis on breathalyzer accuracy. If you google them, you 'll be surprised at the number! I am not an expert on legal issues, but I think it is easy to explain to any lawyer/judge about the situation, and they'll be favoring your case. Brick, Diabetes , Breath Acetone and Breathalyzer Accura Continue reading >>
