Alcohol abuse can degrade health, cause accidents and reduce productivity. Alcohol consumption can cause acute behavioral slowing and difficulties in concentrating and sustaining attention. Since the relation between blood alcohol and behavioral impairment differs across individuals, increased understanding of the functional impact of alcohol might be obtained through more direct assessment of the effect of alcohol on the human brain. At present there is no convenient way to gauge the effect of alcohol on brain activity, especially in individuals performing real world tasks or approximations thereof such as simulated driving or flight. Recent technological and scientific advances imply the feasibility of a breakthrough technology, the Neurolyzer, specifically designed for routine, automated measurement of the brain's response to alcohol during complex task performance. Similar to blood-breath alcohol meters, such as the Breathalyzer, that gauge the amount of alcohol consumed, the Neurolyzer will provide a continuous index of the effect of alcohol on the brain. It will be embodied in a low-cost, highly automated turnkey system for recording and analyzing the impact of alcohol on EEG signals, that outputs a continuously updated index of the neuromodulatory effects of alcohol. It will embody accumulated expertise about analysis of EEG signals into automated software that will reduce the labor required to extract such information by orders of magnitude, making direct measurements of brain activity available to alcohol researchers conveniently and inexpensively. Building on past successful projects, Phase I will evaluate key remaining scientific and signal processing issues. If successful, Phase II would produce and evaluate a system capable of monitoring an intoxicated individual while he or she engages in complex activities, enabling systematic study of the neural effects of alcohol in contexts ranging from refined laboratory tasks to simulations of real world activities to social interactions. Because the family of devices to which the Neurolyzer will be added has application in many areas beyond alcohol research, the project has good prospects for commercial success.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase I (R43)
Project #
1R43AA014824-01
Application #
6737024
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-R (10))
Program Officer
Sorensen, Roger
Project Start
2004-03-01
Project End
2005-02-28
Budget Start
2004-03-01
Budget End
2005-02-28
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$99,526
Indirect Cost
Name
Sam Technology, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
161157318
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94117