title: Development of a portable psychometric testing device for use in the field: an alcohol investigation.
abstract: Cognitive and psychomotor performance have traditionally been assessed in the laboratory. There is a need for an objective portable assessment tool to assess cognitive and psychomotor performance. This study investigated the viability of a portable psychometric test battery, in a controlled laboratory environment, possibly leading to use in the field. A randomised, double-blind placebo controlled, three-way crossover design was employed. 16 subjects received 50 mg/100 ml and 80 mg/100 ml of alcohol and alcohol placebo. Performance was assessed with a tracking task, and an attention task presented on a small ruggedised handheld computer. The attention task showed no significant training effects; however, an element of the tracking task did. Statistical significance, effect size, and test-retest reliability analyses are presented indicating sensitivity of the portable psychometric test battery to the impairing effects of two separate doses of alcohol. Ability to undertake wide-scale impairment testing in the field with meaningful results in the absence of baseline data collection may have wide reaching implications, particularly in relation to the assessment of drivers impaired by drug use.
authors.affiliation: HPRU Medical Research Centre, School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey, Egerton Road, Guildford GU2 7XP, United Kingdom a.degia@surrey.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Degia
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meadows
authors.forename: Sigurd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnsen
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hindmarch
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boyle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology; D001944:Breath Tests; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D016495:Police; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012438:Saccades
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol