A Quick Look at How a SCRAM CAM Device Works
A SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring device is worn on the ankle and measures alcohol consumption through the sweat that is naturally excreted by a person. Known as transdermal analysis, the alcohol monitor absorbs the sweat with a pump that is located inside the device. Once the sweat is in the device, a fuel cell (similar to the technology used for a breathalyzer) determines whether alcohol is present that a reaction with ethanol.
The device tests for alcohol consumption every 30 minutes. It is worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the given monitoring period. This means that if any alcohol is consumed while a person is wearing the SCRAM CAM device, it will be reported. SCRAM devices have been recognized throughout the country as being reliable indicators of alcohol consumption. The devices are court approved and used in over 1600 jurisdictions to monitor offenders pretrial and post-conviction.
The state-of-the-art technology is able to detect very low-levels of alcohol. One of the benefits of SCRAM CAM technology is that it is continuous. Alcohol metabolizes in the body quickly, meaning that infrequent or random alcohol testing may be an inaccurate determinant of whether someone has consumed alcohol recently. The devices are tamper-resistant and will quickly report if someone is trying to alter the device’s ability to test. In addition to running continuous diagnostic tests, the device is also equipped with an infrared (IR) sensor that measures the reflective quality of the skin. This prevents a person from putting anything between the device and the skin without it being detected.