13-year-old Krishna Reddy is doing something most junior high schoolers wouldn’t even consider; finding a way to reduce the number of drunk drivers on our streets.
Reddy sought to create a device, unlike standard breathalyzers, that could test whether someone was under the influence of marijuana and other drugs in addition to alcohol.
Reddy’s “DUI Detection Device” measures the constriction of the pupils when light is flashed into the subject’s eyes. While a flashlight is shown through, believe it or not, a toilet paper roll to concentrate the light, a camera captures the pupil’s degree of dilation.
As you may or may not know, our pupils automatically filter the amount of light that gets into our eyes. When it is bright or when we look into a light, our pupils constrict, or get smaller. When it is dark, our pupils dilate, or get bigger. This is known as the pupillary reflex. Alcohol and other drugs affect how our pupils react to light sources. For example, alcohol and opioids can cause constriction in the pupils while cocaine and LSD can cause dilation of the pupils.
Software, also created by Reddy, analyzes the pupillary reflex to determine if the subject has used alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, sleep aids, or amphetamines.
We have yet to see if Reddy’s invention goes mainstream. In the meantime, Reddy is one of 10 finalists in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. The annual competition awards a $25,000 prize to America’s top young scientist.
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