United States Department of Transportation
i
Laboratory Testing of a Saliva-Alcohol Test Device by Enzymatics, Inc.
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1992-12-01
[PDF-180.15 KB]
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Abstract:This study examined the accuracy of a new saliva-alcohol test device (Enzymatics, Inc. "Q.E.D.-A150") at nine different blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) under three temperature conditions. However, it did not assess the saliva collection procedures. The findings indicate that this device appears to provide a useful means for estimating BACs from saliva samples for screening purposes. Furthermore, laboratory performance on these tests consistently underestimated the target BACs at all alcohol concentrations and all temperatures tested. From a police enforcement perspective, these underestimates would minimize the likelihood of false-positive readings. In other words, these results suggest that it is less likely that police would identify someone as having a BAC above a given threshold when the person being tested is, in fact, not above that level. However, it should be remembered that this limited laboratory evaluation does not address any issues related to collection of saliva samples or police field use of the device, such as how much saliva is sufficient for a test, possible health and safety concerns for a suspect or an officer, liability concerns for an agency using the device and police training requirements. Such issues must be considered prior to reaching a conclusion regarding the practical utility and application of the device. /Abstract from report summary page/
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