Glucose metre indicates whether a drink has been spiked
Four students from Svendborg Gymnasium on Funen have invented a new method to help prevent drug rapes.
The invention, a glucose measurer on a stick, detects whether a drink contains something it shouldn’t.
“There could be pills or bonding agents in your beer. Our stick will detect the glucose that comes out of that,” one of the girls, Sofie Falther, told TV 2. “If your drink hasn’t been spiked, nothing will happen.”
The four girls behind the invention said their inspiration for their ‘Drugstick’ came after a girl in their area was raped after someone spiked her beer.
Falther and her three friends Alberte Nissen, Anna Groth and Kathe Nielsen came up with the Drugstick because they wanted people to feel safe when they were out at clubs or bars.
Their teacher selected the girls to enter high school inventors’ challenge Science Cup Denmark. The four recently won the regional round.
Their teacher, Peter Teglhøj, believes he has found a winning team. “The idea is exciting because it’s a simple solution to a very complex problem,” he said.
There are no firm statistics for drug rapes in Denmark because it is a hard charge to prove. Victims have difficulty convincing police of the crime because all traces of the drugs leave their bodies after only a few hours.
The Drugstick is being welcomed by club owners and guests.
