Goal specific to NIJ forensic technology to provide evidence and proof of concept to support an easy, portable, reliable, safe and robust roadside device to test for marijuana use, including the…

This Project Grant from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice will support research and development of roadside testing technologies for marijuana impairment. Funded at $595,000 under the National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program (CFDA 16.560), the award running from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 will support Immad of Quincy, MA in developing an easy-to-use, portable roadside device to test for recent marijuana use. The research aims to establish the scientific basis and metrics for a THC test, as well as evaluate the use of virtual reality goggles adapted into a collapsible roadside module to test visual field impairment in under two minutes per eye. The program supports applied research to reduce crime and advance justice at the state and local level.

Goal specific to NIJ forensic technology to provide evidence and proof of concept to support an easy, portable, reliable, safe and robust roadside device to test for marijuana use, including the scientific foundation for the device and data to support the metric for THC/marijuana related measure of impairment. Goal we will determine the relationship and efficacy of using a simple off the shelf virtual reality goggle test of visual field functioning, programmed with immad-VR, to determine impairment to drive. Immad-VR displays small striped squares of variable contrast stripes. Participants press a button when they see the striped squares. Testing with the proposed prototype immad-VR takes four minutes per eye. A final version for future testing, will use the same technology but utilizing accumulated data, will be a shortened version taking two minutes per eye and adapted into a collapsible free-standing module with driver placing face into module and utilizing a touch board rather than officer placing the existing virtual goggle onto the driver and driver having a bluetooth button in hand. To expediate through the FDA required clinical studies of efficacy, we will be using the off the shelf pico NEO three virtual reality goggle as IT is already FDA approved for use in testing visual field related to eye disease in three different products. CA/NCF