About Our Technology
The technology behind our ICU Devices
About Our Technology
ICU Technologies Inc. is developing new technology to combine blood alcohol concentration (BAC), interior cabin HGN, known as admissible horizontal gaze nystagmus and transdermal touch point sensing as a three-tiered detection system to passively detect impairment during the operation of a motor vehicle. The technology combines a biometric universal Key Fob known as the BioFob with transdermal alcohol and drug sensing. The BioFob three-tiered system addresses a federal requirement outlined in Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), which mandates that all new vehicles sold in the United States must include passive impaired driving prevention technology by 2026. ICU Technologies Inc.’s approach is to design a seamless and non-invasive product that maintains user privacy and ensures operator accountability.
Our innovation combines three approaches into a single integrated three-tiered infrastructure system, each supported by emerging research and prototype development, yet never on a commercial/national scale before unified into a scalable, passive vehicle safety system, much like what is being requested by law:
Intradermal spectroscopy via a biometric-enabled embedded in the universal key fob:
This novel application uses near-infrared (NIR) light to measure alcohol content in the driver’s capillary blood beneath the skin. The device, functioning as both a key and biometric access device, performs non-invasive spectral analysis upon contact with the driver’s fingertip, enabling real-time BAC estimation without breath sampling. While spectroscopy has been explored in clinical and consumer health settings, its adaptation into a passive vehicle access device is entirely new and remains technically unproven to the public at scale—making it a high-impact pilot and investment.
Transdermal ethanol detection:
Complementing the intradermal scan, the system also measures ethanol vapor emitted through epidermal sweat contact—capturing transient alcohol biomarkers through sensors embedded in both the BioFob and vehicle touchpoints (e.g., steering wheel). Transdermal sensing has been validated in wearable justice and research devices, but its translation into instant vehicle access control represents a pioneering use case. By layering this with biometric verification, we reduce false positives and improve confidence in impairment determination.
AI-enhanced behavioral and ocular monitoring:
Our system optionally incorporates facial and ocular tracking via in-vehicle cameras to detect impairment-related behaviors such as admissible horizontal gaze nystagmus, eyelid droop, pupil dilation, or delayed reaction times consistent with NIH backed impairment detection. These features rely on machine learning models trained in real-world and simulator data to recognize intoxication/presence of substance, patterns in real time. When combined with biometric BAC verification, the AI layer adds redundancy and situational awareness, enhancing safety without compromising privacy.
The Three-tiered system reduces false positives, and false negatives because the adjudication process is not dependent on one technology but all three combined. Our technology also incorporates a model similar to drive terrain protection by shutting down a motor vehicle into “crawl mode” to allow the driver a 90 second window to safely pull the vehicle over without compromising another motorist traveling behind the vehicle shutting down. This feature would also send a message to 911 dispatch to notify them of a vehicle disablement due to impairment, limiting the urgent need for responding officers.
Together, these three components form a multi-layered detection and authentication ecosystem—transforming the vehicle into an intelligent safety barrier that proactively prevents impaired driving while maintaining a frictionless user experience.
The system is modular and hardware-agnostic, meaning it can be retrofitted into existing vehicles or incorporated at the OEM level during manufacturing. This dramatically reduces the barriers to mass deployment and allows compliance with the federal mandate without overhauling vehicle design.