SBIR-STTR Award

Bowles-Langley Technology, Inc., "BLT", a privately held California corporation, proposes to develop an electronic device capable of quickly assessing an individual's level of fatigue and alertness. The device will be used to screen individual workers, on a daily or periodic basis. The initial market will include truck drivers, bus drivers, airline pilots, rail workers, air baggage inspectors, maritime workers and other workers who are engaged in activities where accidents from lack of alertness can have a magnified impact on human life and the environment. In operation, the device first establishes an individual's baseline by testing over a period of weeks. Once a stable baseline is established, each individual is then measured in comparison to his or her own baseline. A performance score below baseline is an indication of potential impairment. The device uses patented technology, proprietary software and algorithms to compute results and also to insure individual privacy. The immediate task is to conduct a clinical trial of the system to determine its effectiveness in detecting fatigue. The test protocol involves keeping 10 individuals awake for 24 hours. During this time the individuals will be tested repeatedly with a variety of testing equipment and simulators as well as with the BLT test device. If the BLT test results show a positive correlation with the other measurements, then a more extensive clinical trial will be conducted followed by large-scale workplace trials. Use of this device has the potential to substantially reduce accidents in many industries.

Thesaurus Terms:
biomedical automation, biomedical equipment development, clinical biomedical equipment, fatigue, injury prevention, monitoring device, occupational health /safety age difference, attention, clinical trial, diagnosis quality /standard, environmental health, gender difference, occupational hazard bioimaging /biomedical imaging, clinical research, computer program /software, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, electromyography, electrooculography, high throughput technology, human subject, racial /ethnic difference, statistics /biometry

Accidents caused by errors and inattention have long plagued industrial society. Many of these accidents are the result of operator fatigue or from health related issues affecting alertness, such as drug side-effects. An effective and practical tool to screen individuals for temporary impairment, before starting work, is vital and urgent. Bowles-Langley Technology, Inc. has developed a computer test to quickly assess an individual's level of fatigue and alertness. The test measures a number of brain performance factors using a computer game- like graphic. Subjects respond by pressing either a YES or a NO button on the tester. Subjects are measured in comparison to their own baseline. This system will screen workers on a daily or periodic basis. Users will include truck drivers, bus drivers, airline pilots, rail workers, air baggage inspectors and maritime workers. Phase I trials showed the software to be sensitive to mild fatigue. The current objective is to increase software stability and to test validity using statistical analysis of experimental results. Tests will be conducted with human subjects at Bowles-Langley Technology's facilities and at the Circadian Technology Sleep Lab. An additional trial will be conducted in a workplace setting with hospital emergency workers. Data will be analyzed using modern Item Response Theory and other statistical methods. The trials will be conducted using the PC platform, but the intended platform is a patented tester suitable for industrial locations. These testers may be quickly deployed and have wide commercial application.

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