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Hair Alcohol Testing

Overview

Alcohol has recently been classified as the fifth most harmful drug. For the first time ever, there is a non-invasive service to detect excessive consumption of alcohol over a period of time. Unlike traditional methods, alcohol testing in hair can establish dependency for periods of up to six months. As the first company to offer this test commercially, Trimega Laboratories, together with its team of researchers and scientists, has developed a system that clearly indicates or rules out alcohol abuse.


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Hair Alcohol Testing explained







For a comprehensive picture of
alcohol abuse
Select Trimega's Gold Standard test (FAEE & EtG) for longer windows of detection


Hair alcohol testing vs. Traditional methods
  Hair Alcohol Testing Traditional Methods
Window of detection Up to 6 months < 4 weeks
Regularity One-off testing Regular testing (costly)
Results False positives are eliminated Risk of false positives
Re-testing Possible Not possible due to short window of detection
Collection Non-invasive Invasive
Samples and storage Tamper proof Risk of tampering
 

Trimega Laboratories' standards of Hair Alcohol Testing

Hair Alcohol Testing Gold (FAEE & EtG)

TrimegaLaboratories' hair alcohol testing gold standard is achieved by combining both FAEE and EtG tests. This combination assists in mutual confirmation and exclusion of false positive or false negative results*; significantly increasing the accuracy of interpretation. The results is that although contextual information always assists final interpretation, less context is required due to the heightened ability in the achievement of a more definitive result. With a growing database of alcohol testing results in child protection cases, Trimega Laboratories is the only company in the world that can measure both EtG and FAEE.

* Recently stated in the joint consensus of The Society of Hair Testing meeting in Rome, June 2009.

Hair Alcohol Testing Silver (FAEE*)

Trimega Laboratories' FAEE (fatty acid ethyl ester) hair alcohol test is award-winning* and is now clearly distinguishable as the market leader in alcohol dependency analysis. Trimega Laboratories have the world's largest commercial database available of donor alcohol self-reporting information versus results and can now determine if a donor falls into abstinence/moderate or excessive range of alcohol consumption.

* Winner of the UK Best Use of Technology Award 2008

Hair Alcohol Testing Bronze (EtG)

EtG (ethyl glucuronide) testing is one of the latest hair alcohol test technology available, which is provided as a lower cost solution for determination of alcohol abuse covering periods of one month or more. Medical and other contextual information should also be considered.

The process: How alcohol is detected

As the hair grows, it absorbs special markers called fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) into its structure, which remain in the hair indefinitely. These patented markers are only produced when there is alcohol in the bloodstream (EtG markers are formed almost exclusively in the liver and then deposited into hair mainly from sweat). The more markers there are, the more alcohol has been consumed.

What makes this analysis revolutionary is that FAEE testing gives a history going back months if required. No other method can do this. For example, testing using blood only provides results covering a period no longer than one month. Once history of alcohol abuse is established using Trimega's latest technique, an alcoholic's treatment can then be monitored periodically.

Who can use this service?

Legal Sector

Hair alcohol tests have been regularly used by the UK legal sector for legal disputes and child care proceeding cases. Prove that a client is fit to have custody of their children. The admissibility of the tests is dependent upon strict sample collection protocols administered by Trimega Laboratories' trained nurses and sample collectors.

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Corporate Sector

The need to use hair alcohol testing within the corporate sector (maritime, insurance, medical and rail sectors) has increased since its introduction by Trimega Laboratories. Increasingly, corporates believe there is a need to regulate their own industry by monitoring employees and ensuring that professionalism within their industry is maintained.

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Forensics

For forensic use, forensic investigators may use this test to determine whether a driver in a road accident was in the habit of overindulging in alcohol. Trimega Laboratories provide expert witnesses if required.

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Why Trimega?

  • Cost effective: Competitive pricing policy
  • Meeting deadlines: Results available within 7-10 business days from receipt of sample
  • Simple fast instruction process
  • Hassle-free service: Fully co-ordinated sample collection service
  • FREE sample collection materials
  • Split-invoicing if requested
  • Certified to ISO 9001:2000 Quality management systems by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance who are a UKAS-accredited certification body.
  • Multiple award winning company

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