Diagnostic anSERS Inc. has been awarded a $150,000 grant by the National Science Foundation to develop a paper-based test for identifying drugged drivers, building on their low-cost yet highly sensitive and reliable P-SERS™ testing platform

Diagnostic anSERS announced today that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the company a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant to identify drugged drivers. With the $150,000 funding, Diagnostic anSERS will develop a paper-based test strip to enable rapid roadside screening for driver drug impairment, a particularly pressing need. A recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 13.6% of weekend nighttime drivers tested positive for illegal drugs, as compared to only 1.5% being drunk (NHTSA 2013-2014 National Roadside Survey). At present, no effective roadside drug intoxication test exists.

Currently, most states employ Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) to combat drugged drivers. DREs are law enforcement officers specifically trained to identify a variety of signs indicative of drug use, such as coordination and pupil size. However, sobriety exams are time consuming. This, combined with the rising incidence of drug use, means that DREs simply cannot keep up. Compounding this problem is the high cost of keeping a DRE on staff, which severely limits law enforcement’s ability to keep drugged drivers off the roads.

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