According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 400,000 women are victims of sexual assault due to date rape drugs. Further, over half of these cases go unreported. Date rape drugs, most commonly GHB and ketamine, are both tasteless and colourless. Thus, there is no current way to detect such a drug in one’s drink. These medications act quickly, causing dizziness, loss of motor controls and/or memory, confusion, or even loss of consciousness. Such symptoms make a woman susceptible to sexual assault so it is important for all women to always exercise caution and never accept drinks from a stranger.
However, scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel believe that they have created a device to detect date rape drugs in beverages with perfect accuracy. The sensor, supplied with light rays and optical technology, needs only to be dipped into the beverage in order to detect the drugs. If such drugs are present, an alarm will sound. The final product will be slim and lightweight like a pen, though it will not be available for another couple of years. It will likely cost less than a dollar, will be easily concealable, and will have refillable cartridges. Lead researchers Professor Fernando Patolsky and Dr. Michael Ioffee also aim to expand the sensor to detect other types of date rape drugs in the finalized product.
This type of technology will help prevent thousands of sexual assaults against women caused by date rape drugs.
For more on this story visit: http://www.emaxhealth.com/4214/date-rape-drug-sensor-protects-women-against-tainted-beverages