Benefiting emergency department (ED) professionals and patients
Albio™ is a designed and developed to be a tool for paramedics and emergency department (EDs). It obtains fast and accurate information about patient’s blood alcohol level in order to make life-saving decisions on treatment and medication.
Alcohol is the most used drug in the world. More than 45% of EDs’ patients are under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol has a huge effect in treatment methods and medications. Yet, so far, the only reliable way to get blood alcohol level information on an unconscious patient has been via a clinical lab test. Unfortunately, this takes time, is expensive, and requires special instruments and skills which are not available on ambulances or in any portable kit. Several medicines, typically pain-killers, react with alcohol. Thus, it is very important to know what the blood-alcohol level is for the correct dosage.
Symptoms, for instance in brain stroke, might look like a person is drunk, especially if patient smells of alcohol. In these cases, time is a critical factor. If this happens in rural areas or in rush hours, the patient transportation and clinical lab testing can easily take hours.
Albio™ gives a reliable result in 25 seconds and doesn’t require special skills or expensive instruments. Enabling faster treatment and better diagnosis with Albio™ is beneficial both to medical professionals and patients.
Realising savings in the field and lab
Albio™ has a great economic impact. Tests being 10 to 40 times cheaper than current methods can bring up to €125 savings for each test. Saving also come from transportation (fewer unnecessary ambulance emergency rides), as well as from staff and workload in laboratories. The Albio™ meter doesn’t need any expensive maintenance type calibration, it calibrates easily by a code card from the strip vial into the meter.
Significant improvement compared to existing methods
Currently the only alcohol detector in ambulances is breath analyser. However, it has certain weaknesses. Breathalysers measure alcohol from the patient’s breath which often is not the same as their blood-level. The accuracy of a breathalyser measurement is affected by recent drinking and smoking and even eating, through residues in the mouth mucous membrane. Patients who are unconscious, who have had a severe trauma, or who are hysterical are not able to give a breathalyser sample. Albio™ is in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical device. It fulfils the corresponding requirements which come from different international standards and authorities. In addition, Albio™ is designed to work in field conditions.
