RAM: Remote Alcohol Monitoring

A project in collaboration with the Healthier Futures Lab (HealthFuL)

Contingency management is a highly efficacious treatment that can reduce drug and alcohol use. In contingency management treatments, tangible rewards (e.g., money, privileges, or prizes) are provided contingent upon verified abstinence from the target substance. Among adults with alcohol use disorder, delayed outcomes have relatively little control over behavior. Therefore, immediately available rewards such as those arranged in contingency management interventions are much more likely to promote positive behavior change than the health or social gains associated with long durations of abstinence.

The RAM is a Android application that currently notifies participants when a breathalyzer reading is due, auto connects to the participant’s BACtrackbreathalyzer, guides the participant through the breathalyzer submission process with on-screen prompts, takes three pictures of the participant’s face during submission and submits the breathalyzer reading and facial pictures to a secure server. We are currently working on improving the App’s offline capabilities, adding support for new prize-based incentive protocols and introducing a CO monitor for to help monitor smoking amongst participants. In addition, the goal is to have this application work as cross-platform application that can also work on iOS devices.