A Different Kind of Bling: Bracelet Tracks Alcohol Consumption

July 17, 2007 — -- Strapping on stiletto heels just got a little bit harder for celebrity starlet Lindsay Lohan.

Lohan is now donning an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet along with her usual designer duds, her publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnick told ABC News.

The bracelet, which will track and record even the slightest trace of alcohol Lohan consumes, is being worn voluntarily by the star in an effort to prove she's serious about staying sober. Lohan recently completed a 45-day in-patient program at the ritzy rehabilitation facility Promises in Malibu, Calif.

While this bracelet is certainly less glamorous than the rest of her bling, it is a device that may be the answer for people like the actress who just can't cut booze out of their lives.

The 8-ounce bracelet tracks the user's alcohol level through a process called "transdermal alcohol testing," which essentially takes samples from the hard-to-see layer of sweat that is on everyone's skin.

"It will detect just about any level of drinking event," says Kathleen Brown, spokesperson for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM), which makes the bracelet. "But we will not confirm any event until it reaches a 0.02 blood alcohol content."

For a home installation fee of just $60, the device records the level of alcohol either every 30 minutes or every hour, depending on the offender's probation guidelines, explained Brown.

How does it work? The offender must be within 30 feet of a wireless modem once a day, allowing the collected data to be transmitted onto a secure Web site where probation officers can be alerted of any alcohol consumption. If an offender fails to download the information once a day, courts are notified and it's considered a breach of the offender's probation.

Tampering with the device is nearly impossible, thanks to an infrared laser beam that measures the distance between the person's leg and the bracelet. If an offender tries to slip something in between the bracelet and their skin, the distance the beam travels changes and a tampering alarm is recorded and reported to authorities.