A Durham company which has developed sensor technology that can detect alcohol and drugs in a person’s blood by scanning their skin has raised a £600,000 investment to enable it to commercialise its product.
The funding round for Applied Monitoring was co-led by the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, and the Finance Durham Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners, established by Durham County Council and overseen by Business Durham.
The deal also includes a £100,000 investment from the Centre of Processing Innovation to support further research and development of its technology.
Applied Monitoring’s innovative sensor system identifies the presence and concentration of alcohol, cocaine and cannabis in a person’s bloodstream by scanning their skin. The device generates electromagnetic waves at a range of different frequencies that pass through the skin and interact with chemicals in the blood that are reflected back, analysed and recorded.
The technology is non-invasive, and quicker and cheaper than onsite workplace tests currently in use. The business is in the process of developing desk-based arm scanning equipment, using readily available electronic components similar to those used in mobile phones.
As part of the investment, Mercia made two introductions from its non-executive director network to support the company’s growth. Carl Barratt, former CEO of Monica Healthcare, a wearable medical device diagnostics business, and Neil Hayward, a human resource development professional with around 30 years’ experience in businesses including the Post Office and HS2, both have a strong track record of business transformation.
Currently on-site drug testing requires bodily fluid samples to be collected and either sent to a lab for subsequent testing or the use of dipstick test strips that confirm if drugs are present but not the amount. Applied Monitoring’s sensor technology software can analyse chemicals in the blood in seconds, to confirm if a specific chemical is present and if so, at what levels.
The global alcohol and drug testing market is projected to be $10 billion by 2025, the UK alcohol and drug testing market alone was estimated to be worth £250m in 2020 and the global on-site testing market is expected to grow from $485m in 2020 to $950m in 2025.
“We are confident that Applied Monitoring has truly innovative and transformational technology offering the business strong competitive advantage versus the current market offerings,” said CEO Jon Dixon.
(l-r) Jon Dixon, Thea Tebble, Michael Dickens, Rob Connell
Thea Tebble, investment associate at Mercia, said: “Mercia are delighted to support Applied Monitoring in the continued development of their market disrupting technology, which will significantly increase the speed and ease of alcohol and drugs of abuse testing.”
Cllr James Rowlandson, portfolio holder for resources, investment and assets at Durham County Council, said: “Applied Monitoring are an excellent example of the innovative companies at NETPark. It’s fantastic to be able to provide finance through Finance Durham to enable the company to solve real world problems with novel applications of technology.”