Company launches on-site alcohol detection test

A manufacturer of on-site drug testing devices has announced the launch of what it calls the first on-site lateral flow test for the alcohol use biomarker ethyl glucuronide (EtG). Minnesota-based Express Diagnostics International Inc. says the DrugCheck Rapid EtG (patent pending) urine test will offer reliable results at a significantly lower cost than available laboratory tests to monitor abstinence from alcohol use.

The threshold used in the Rapid EtG is designed to detect alcohol use for a period up to about 48 hours prior to specimen collection, according to a news release from Express Diagnostics. The test is being designed for use in abstinence monitoring in criminal justice settings.

EtG testing began in laboratories around a decade ago, but in its early years was hampered somewhat by concerns over false positives from environmental alcohol exposure, such as through use of common household products. New research has advanced the knowledge of how to test at detection levels that can avoid this problem.

“Compared to the typical process, whereby tens of thousands of specimens nationwide are shipped each day for lab-based EtG tests, our new rapid EtG test offers unheard-of flexibility and efficiency for alcohol abstinence monitoring,” said Express Diagnostics CEO Paul Johnson.