Intoximeters, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri USA with a subsidiary office in Totnes, Devon UK. Intoximeters produces and markets a full line of alcohol breath testing instruments.
Since 1945, Intoximeters has been a leader in the breath alcohol detection field. Early on, law enforcement, probations and correction agencies were the primary customers for this type of equipment. However, as the extent of alcohol abuse in society became more recognized, other markets for breath alcohol testing products developed - most notably in the industrial occupational health sector.
Although initially driven by federal mandates, the costs associated with alcohol abuse in the workplace have encouraged more and more employers to institute alcohol and drug testing on their own to reduce absenteeism, worker's compensation costs, accident insurance costs and to improve overall safety in the workplace. Intoximeters' products, designed for use in law enforcement environments, have been easily adapted for a wide range of industrial applications.
Intoximeters has fully utilized advances in both sensor and data processing technologies. Today, there are a wide variety of mandated testing protocols at the local, state and federal levels, many with strict reporting requirements. Intoximeters has responded to this market need by developing a complete line of instruments with advanced data processing and communications capabilities.
Intoximeters, Inc. also provides comprehensive customer support by offering training courses in the operation and maintenance of each of its instruments and associated software products.
1937
The company founder, Dr. Glenn C. Forrester, discovered and patented a process for capturing alcohol from a breath sample. The result was the development of a portable, roadside instrument used to collect evidence in suspected drunk driving cases. Breath sampling was an innovative technique for blood alcohol determination at that time. 1937-1941
Dr. Forrester devoted most of his energy to research and pilot studies to establish the validity of breath alcohol analysis, until World War II interrupted his efforts.
1945
Intoximeters was incorporated by Dr. Forrester.
1947
The State of Michigan initiated a statewide breath testing program using the Portable Intoximeter. Dr. Forrester's success in these early efforts eventually gained wide support in the forensic community for breath alcohol analysis.
Mid to Late 1950's
The Photo-Electric Intoximeter (registered originally by Dr. Forrester) used deep lung breath of a fixed volume and pre-packaged chemicals in conjunction with photo-electric measurements to determine blood alcohol concentration.
In the 1970's
Intoximeters brought to market a flame ionization Gas Chromatograph (GCI MKII and MKIV). These instruments could directly sample a subject's breath or they could analyze a breath sample collected at another location using the Indium Encapsulation System. These indium tubes captured three separate samples of a breath specimen. The collected samples would be preserved until they could be presented to the GC for analysis.
Mid 1970's
Intoximeters introduces the first of the Alco Sensor® line of handheld breath alcohol analyzers. This line of handheld fuel cell instruments is the most prolific line of evidential grade alcohol breath test instruments made to date.
Late 1970's
Intoximeters introduces the first evidential fuel cell based instrument. The "Auto Intoximeter" (Auto I)
1980's
Intoximeters offers the Intoximeters IR 3000 infrared based evidential system. This analyzer lead breath testing into the computer age. The IR 3000 was the first to integrate a computer with a breath test instrument. The system allowed the operator to collect data about the subject and the arrest and attach it to a test result.
19901981 - IR 3000 is offered with a dual sensor system including a tin oxide sensor. This device was used to identify compounds that could be found in the human breath and might interfere with the infrared analysis.
1983 - IR 3000 is offered with a fuel cell as a second sensor. This device is the first dual analytical fuel cell infrared analyzer commercially available for evidential breath testing.
1983 - The IR 3000 used in Alaska is offered as an evidential breath test system that utilizes a dry gas standard for performing periodic accuracy checks
Intoximeters implements a patented analysis technique in the Alco Sensor® IV where the fuel cell signal is integrated, and this integration is used in the determination of the alcohol concentration. This technique proves to be a benchmark improvement in fuel cell analysis in that it overcomes the "slumping" effect that is evident in systems that use a pure "peak" or rate of reaction analysis. This patent allows the Intoximeters' fuel cell instruments which employ this technique to offer accuracy and repeatability on par with the desktop evidential systems.
1993
Intoximeters introduces the Intox EC/IR®. This instrument sets the standard for bench top, fuel cell based evidential systems. With its use in several US states as the primary evidential testing system and its approval and use in the UK for drink drive enforcement, the EC/IR offers features and an ease of maintenance that make it an attractive alternative to infrared based analyzers.
1994-95
The US Department of Transportation mandates workplace alcohol testing for safety sensitive positions that fall under the DOT jurisdiction. This group includes truck drivers, pilots, train conductors and ship captains to name a few.
A suite of products (using existing or new platforms) were introduced to meet these markets needs:
- Alco Sensor® IV /RBTIV
- Alco Sensor® IV with memory and serial printer
- Alco Sensor® IV with Alco Sensor® IV Utility
- AlcoMonitor CC®
- Intox EC/IR®
Intoximeters places more than 300 Intox EC/IR® instruments in UK police constabularies. To support a growing sales demand in Europe, an office in the UK is opened to offer both marketing and after sales support for Intoximeters products.
2000
Intoximeters introduces its first @ Point of Arrest System®:
Point of Arrest testing is a response to the "rising blood alcohol" contention which is a common defense used to challenge breath test results in court. Roadside evidential testing systems, such as the Alco-Sensor® IV XL @ Point of Arrest System®, are one solution to eliminate this concern.
2004
Intoximeters introduces the Intox EC/IR® II and Alco-Sensor FST®:
The EC/IR II, the replacement for the benchtop EC/IR in the Intoximeters product line is introduced to the market and selected for use in statewide programs in West Virginia and Tennessee.
The Alco-Sensor FST® is the latest instrument in the Alco-Sensor® Product Line that offers automated sampling at a low cost. The Alco-Sensor FST® offers integral design features that are aimed at enhancing operator safety during its use.
2010
Intoximeters introduces the Alco-Sensor® V line.
The Alco-Sensor® V line of products offers a range of configurations; from a standalone handheld instrument (ASV), to a handheld instrument with print capabilities (ASV and printer) to full systems (RBTV and ASV @ Point of Arrest System®) with data input and print capabilities.