DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smart Start, Inc., the nation’s leading ignition interlock provider, announced today that it has obtained the exclusive rights to distribute Intelligent Fingerprinting Ltd.’s drugs of abuse detection products in North America. Intelligent Fingerprinting, a technology company based in Norwich, United Kingdom, has introduced the world’s first prototype of a handheld fingerprint drug detection device. The unique process detects drug metabolites and other substances contained in fingerprints and enables mobile testing with instant results. Smart Start expects to begin offering the new product in early 2013, pending regulatory approval.
“We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Intelligent Fingerprinting. Their unique, non-invasive drug-detection technology will revolutionize testing for drugs of abuse,” said Smart Start CEO Lamar Ball. “The potential roadside, criminal justice and workplace applications have natural synergies with our existing ignition interlock and alcohol monitoring business and we are eager to explore the opportunity.”
The new hand-held device will enable testing of fingerprints for illegal drugs and other substances using disposable cartridges. The samples are quick and easy to collect and do not require special handling or biohazard precautions. “The imaging of the fingerprint provides a chain-of-evidence continuity that is almost impossible to cheat,” Mr. Ball noted. “The potential uses for the device are wide ranging and cover testing in the workplace as well as screening drivers at roadside for drug-driving impairment.”
Smart Start has formed a new subsidiary, Smart Sales, Inc., to concentrate on marketing the products in North America. Tom Anthony was appointed president of the new company and will direct the company’s development. “The unique ability to combine fingerprint identification and substance abuse detection has many applications in the criminal justice and workplace arenas. The testing is non-invasive, quick and accurate. We are excited to be able to bring the products to the market,” Mr. Anthony stated.
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Business Development Manager Dr. Paul Yates added, “There has already been considerable worldwide interest in the use of the technology for testing within a wide range of applications, including criminal justice, forensic science, homeland security, as well as institutional testing at prisons and workplaces. But the ability of a hand-held device to carry out testing in-situ brings a whole new range of benefits and opportunities.”
Well known since 1993 for its breath alcohol ignition interlock devices (BAIIDs), Smart Start also provides home alcohol monitoring with its IN-HOM® alcohol monitoring system. All Smart Start products are designed, engineered and manufactured in the United States. Smart Start is an industry leader in alcohol monitoring technology in the U.S. and also serves clients in Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, and Australia.
Monitoring authorities, private probation, rehabilitation offices, attorneys and individuals convicted of DWI can call 1-800-880-3394 for information and/or enrollment, or download the Smart Start smartphone mobile app at the iTunes Store or the Android Marketplace.
About Smart Start, Inc. (www.SmartStartInc.com)
SETTING THE STANDARD IN ALCOHOL MONITORING TECHNOLOGY (SM)
Privately held Smart Start, Inc. is a leader in alcohol monitoring through its ignition interlock and IN-HOM® alcohol testing devices. It provides fully integrated services encompassing design, manufacturing, installation, customer service, monitoring and administrative support. A leading global supplier of alcohol monitoring devices since its creation in 1993, Smart Start is headquartered in Irving, Texas, and offers its services and products through more than 1,000 company-owned and franchised locations in the United States in Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, and Australia.
800.880.3394
Smart Start® saves lives by Separating
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About Intelligent Fingerprinting, Ltd. (www.Intelligentfingerprinting.com)
Intelligent Fingerprinting Ltd is a spin-out from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, and has developed unique technology to determine whether an individual is using drugs from analyzing minute traces of sweat deposited in their fingerprints. The fingerprint itself provides positive identification of the individual and the sweat analysis shows the presence of drugs in the body. The technology detects the products of the body’s metabolism of the drug (so-called ‘metabolites’) and not the drug itself, and therefore provides direct evidence that the person has actually taken the drugs, and not simply touched a surface that might have been contaminated. In addition to the detection of drugs of abuse, the Intelligent Fingerprinting technology can be used for a wide range of other applications.
www.intelligentfingerprinting.com
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